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#7 Sithuli Mbeje - on mobile abattoirs, bringing processing closer to home and doing what needs to be done

15 March 2024

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1 Guest Bio
2 Episode Description
3 Show Notes
4 Time Stamps 
5 Transcript

1 Guest Bio

Sithuli Mbeje is a South African food technologist with over a decade of experience in the food and retail industry. He has a background working with major local and international food companies, specializing in research and development, and particularly in new product innovation.

He is the founder of AfriFood Technologies, a company focused on developing solutions for a more sustainable food future. His innovative approach to food waste and supply chain efficiency aims to transform market access opportunities for emerging farmers and food entrepreneurs. According to Mbeje, creating shorter supply chains by bringing processing closer to the source, results in the creation of local food systems, reduced food waste, and better value for small scale farmers and consumers, as well as the entire food value chain.

AfriFood Technologies’ signature product is a mobile abattoir designed to support the implementation of circular food economies in rural communities. This innovation addresses challenges in remote areas by providing a more accessible and efficient meat processing solution.

Sithuli was a winner in the 2021 Mail & Guardian's Greening The Future Awards and was a participant in the SAB Foundation's Tholoana Enterprise Programme, an intensive 18-month mentorship and development programme for entrepreneurs.

2 Episode Description

In Episode 1, disruptive thinker and author Efosa Ojomo highlighted that the potential for prosperity in Africa lay in finding solutions to persistent problems and in doing so, creating new markets.

In this episode, we shine a light on Sithuli Mbeje’s journey to developing a mobile abattoir - his response to the problems faced by livestock farmers across Africa when they want to convert their cows to meat. In graphic details he outlines the different steps involved in this process, both in the large industrial abattoirs, as well as his much smaller and compact roving mobile unit.

In our conversation he speaks about what gave him the idea for a mobile abattoir, how it fits into his philosophy on food waste and food security and how it is still possible to create value even if you do not follow a linear growth model. He highlights how mobile abattoirs can also serve an important role during outbreaks of foot and mouth disease, a recurring problem across many countries in Africa, as well as in conservation projects that rely on collaborative efforts between farmers and conservation agencies.

He speaks of his drive to combine knowledge gained from years in the food processing and retail space with his understanding of food practices back home in rural KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, to create new food processes and systems to ensure a more sustainable meat supply chain across Africa.

3 Show Notes

[00:03:35] Checkers is a large supermarket chain that is part of the bigger Shoprite Group. Shoprite Group is Africa’s largest fast-moving consumer goods retailer. Its core business is in food retailing, complemented by furniture, pharmaceuticals, hospitality, ticketing, digital commerce, and financial and cellular services. Checkers 'boasts three store formats - supermarkets, smaller-format convience stores, large-format hyper stores - and an award-winning grocery delivery service.'

[00:03:35] Foot and mouth disease is a severe, highly contagious viral disease of livestock that has a significant economic impact. The disease affects cattle, swine, sheep, goats and other cloven-hoofed ruminants. It is a transboundary animal disease (TAD) that deeply affect the production of livestock and disrupting regional and international trade in animals and animal products. The disease is estimated to circulate in 77% of the global livestock population, in Africa, the Middle East and Asia, as well as in a limited area of South America

[00:08:20] KwaZulu Natal's carcass grading system

[00:15:22] Meat Naturally 'brings together livestock farmers, NGOs, meat buyers, and stakeholders in the meat value chain. By providing education, farming resources, grazing expertise, and market opportunities, Africa’s rangelands and wetlands are being restored every day'.

[00:17:28] Offal, also referred to as variety meats is the name for internal organs and entrails of a butchered animal. Worth a read: The Offal-Eater’s Handbook: Untangling the Myths of Organ Meats

[00:18:06] KwaZulu-Natal is one of 9 provinces in South Africa. It covers an area of 94 361km², the third-smallest in the country, and has a population of 11 065 240, making it the second most populous province in South Africa, with just over half its population living in rural areas.

[00:03:35] Haggis is a dish made from the liver, stomach or heart of sheep or cows. Whatever meat is used is usually mixed with onion, oatmeal and suet before being boiled in the animal’s stomach. Haggis recipe.

[00:20:37] Woolworths SA is South Africa’s largest retailer with more than 700 store locations throughout South Africa and 10 other African countries. Known by locals as 'Woolies', it is known for its high quality and equally high prices. The retailer also has a multichannel focus, with an online presence across its major brands. It is part of Woolworths Holdings Limited, the South African-based retail group. The company also owns a clothing and homeware retailer and has stores in selected African countries and the Middle East.

[00:43:48] Karan beef 'is one of South Africa’s leading suppliers of beef products and continuously sets the benchmark for excellence in the local beef industry'.

4 Time Stamps

[00:00:00] Pull quote and welcome to the AfricanOptimist podcast

[00:02:39] What is a mobile abattoir?

[00:03:41] Exploring the traditional meat processing journey

[00:08:20] The different grades of meat in commercial meat processing

[00:10:43] The downside of commercial abattoirs

[00:14:41] How mobile abattoirs benefit local livestock farmers and the environment

[00:17:46] Reducing waste by using mobile abattoirs

[00:21:30] The founding moment of the mobile abattoir concept

[00:24:21] Linear vs circular economies

[00:25:49] The workings of a mobile abattoir

[00:30:42] The challenges while creating the mobile abattoir

[00:33:09] Early Memories of ceremonies and slaughter

[00:37:10] Future of AfriFood Technologies

[00:39:22] The need to upskill communities in agro-processing

[00:42:10] Resistance from commercial farmers

[00:44:28] Reflections and Advice

5 Transcript



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