Justin Platt, founder and managing director of agricultural technical products and services firms Zylem and RegenZ, explains how South African agriculture stands to learn by way of imposing traceability programs.
Traceability has grow to be a an important component of meals protection and high quality assurance in agriculture. World governments and shoppers are an increasing number of involved in regards to the protection and validity of claims in regards to the produce they import and eat.
The meals provide chain is complicated, and a loss of transparency and era answers within the provide chain gadget creates vital demanding situations for agribusinesses lately.
Imposing end-to-end traceability in agriculture contributes extra than simply regulatory compliance or making sure meals protection. It lowers operational prices for manufacturers, improves profitability, regulates fraudulent actions or unethical practices, and unlocks new trade alternatives. It’s price highlighting how traceability era can lend a hand to spotlight pointless forms that disproportionally will increase the manufacturing price to the farmer, and subsequently to the shopper.
In essence, we wish to have a blockchain-type procedure that permits each and every loaf of bread or avocado fed on to be rated on its vitamin density, worth, foundation, and price to the surroundings, and no longer simply in rands and cents.
International developments and drivers for traceability
- Converting shopper calls for and personal tastes
Shoppers international be expecting meals and fibre merchandise to align with their personal tastes, together with upper animal welfare, sustainability, and different manufacturing and provide chain traits. Assembly those calls for calls for end-to-end traceability that tracks all the product existence cycle from farm to fork. - Expanding import marketplace rules
Obligatory measures being carried out by way of uploading nation governments are expanding, and agribusinesses will have to reply to those measures in a well timed and environment friendly approach to take care of marketplace get right of entry to and profit from the alternatives to be had in rising export markets. - Expanding globalisation and pageant within the agribusiness business
South Africa is a big manufacturer and exporter of quite a lot of agricultural merchandise, together with end result, greens, grains and farm animals. The rustic’s agribusiness business is going through expanding pageant from different manufacturers world wide, who’re additionally in search of to seize a proportion of the worldwide marketplace. To stay aggressive, South African agribusinesses wish to exhibit that their merchandise are protected, of top quality, and sustainably produced, and that they may be able to be traced again to their foundation.
Traceability can lend a hand South African agribusinesses meet those calls for by way of offering a method of verifying the security, high quality, and sustainability in their merchandise. It may additionally lend a hand them to tell apart their merchandise from competition by way of highlighting their distinctive traits and attributes. Moreover, traceability can lend a hand scale back the chance of product recollects or contamination incidents by way of taking into consideration steered and centered responses to any factor. - Rising and evolving era
New era is riding upper business and executive expectancies for clear, correct, suitable and well timed knowledge. Integrating those applied sciences into trade control programs for enhanced traceability can lend a hand building up productiveness, scale back meals waste and fraud, and support meals protection and biosecurity assurances.
SA traceability good fortune tales
- Wine
South Africa is without doubt one of the international’s best wine-producing international locations, and the wine business has carried out a traceability gadget known as the Integrity and Sustainability Certification programme. It calls for collaborating wine manufacturers to enforce environmental and social sustainability practices and take care of data in their manufacturing processes. The programme additionally supplies for third-party auditing to verify compliance with the criteria. - Red meat
Traceability programs are an increasing number of being carried out within the South African pork business to fulfill the necessities of export markets. One instance is the Meat Protection Act (MSA) of 2000, which calls for all abattoirs and meat processors to take care of data of the animals they procedure and the goods they produce. The MSA additionally supplies for the id and tracing of particular person animals the use of ear tags and different id strategies. - Rooibos tea
South Africans love their rooibos, and the rustic’s signature ‘pink bush’ tea has won recognition in global markets. In 2021, the Ecu Fee authorized the registration of the designation ‘Rooibos/Pink Bush’ in its Check in of Secure Designations of Starting place and Secure Geographical Indications. Product names registered as safe designations of foundation have robust hyperlinks of traceability to their supply, since each and every side of manufacturing, processing and preparation will have to happen in that particular foundation the use of recognised expertise. - Woolworths
Woolworths South Africa is strongly dedicated to traceability right through its provide chain to verify the security, high quality and sustainability of its merchandise. The corporate goals to have a clear, traceable and moral provide chain by way of 2025. To this finish, it has carried out a number of projects to support traceability and transparency. Those come with provider auditing, detailed product labelling, sustainable sourcing, and era answers to support traceability and transparency, corresponding to blockchain and radio-frequency id era, which permits for real-time monitoring of goods during the provide chain.
Why is traceability key to a sustainable long run in SA agriculture?
- Realizing and minimising your carbon footprint
Sure provide chains are hanging drive on farmers to minimise their carbon footprints. With get right of entry to to traceability and carbon information, farmers grow to be higher supplied to make knowledgeable choices for providers, transporters and companions to paintings with. The use of merchandise that experience already quantified their carbon footprint is a simple approach to make a choice merchandise that can result in decrease footprints and extra horny produce costs. - Making sure meals protection
Traceability programs permit for the id and monitoring of agricultural merchandise from farm to fork. This makes it more uncomplicated to come across and comprise meals protection incidents, corresponding to outbreaks of food-borne sickness. By means of imposing traceability programs, South African agriculture can lend a hand be sure that the security of its merchandise and give protection to public well being. - Selling environmental sustainability
Traceability programs too can lend a hand advertise environmental sustainability by way of taking into consideration the tracking and control of inputs and outputs right through the provision chain. This may come with monitoring using insecticides, fertilisers and water, in addition to the emissions of greenhouse gases and different pollution. By means of tracking and managing those components, South African agriculture can scale back its environmental footprint and advertise extra sustainable practices. - Improving marketplace get right of entry to
Many global markets an increasing number of require traceability for agricultural merchandise. By means of imposing traceability programs, South African agriculture can meet those necessities and acquire get right of entry to to those markets, which will lend a hand building up export income and toughen financial construction. - Supporting social sustainability
Traceability programs too can lend a hand toughen social sustainability by way of selling honest labour practices and making sure compliance with social requirements. This may come with tracking operating prerequisites, making sure honest wages and advantages, and protective staff’ rights.
Traceability is vital to a sustainable long run in South African agriculture, because it helps meals protection, environmental sustainability, marketplace get right of entry to, and social sustainability. By means of imposing traceability programs, South African agriculture can be sure that the security, high quality and sustainability of its merchandise, and toughen financial construction and social well-being.
Watch this area: new era is accelerating traceability, and the adventure goes to be a thrilling one!
The perspectives expressed in our weekly opinion piece don’t essentially replicate the ones of Farmer’s Weekly.
Justin Platt has been concerned within the agricultural products and services business since 1979. He’s an energetic player in business our bodies such because the Fertilizer Affiliation of South Africa and Potatoes South Africa. He’s additionally one of the crucial few Southern African-registered experts for Brookside Laboratories Included in Ohio, US.