Industry Overview
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Where feeding starts
From the milk in your fridge to the meat on your plate, animal feed is the invisible engine powering South Africa’s food system. Behind every healthy animal stands a scientifically crafted feed formula – developed by professionals, refined through research, and delivered with precision. AFMA represents the heart of this industry, setting standards, supporting innovation, and ensuring that every gram of feed meets South Africa’s highest expectations for safety, sustainability, and quality.
Feed Industry’s Economic Role
The animal feed industry plays a pivotal role in South Africa’s agricultural economy. It supports thousands of jobs across manufacturing, logistics, and technical services, and underpins the performance of the country’s meat, dairy, poultry, egg and aquaculture sectors. With between 12-13 million tons of feed produced annually, feed manufacturers form the critical link between crop production and animal protein supply.
Why animal nutrition matters
Every meal matters – not just for us as humans, but for the livestock that sustain South Africa’s food supply. Animal nutrition is the backbone of the country’s livestock industry, ensuring that cattle, poultry, swine, and dairy animals receive the precise nutrients they need for optimal health, productivity, and welfare.
Behind every kilogram of fish, meat, every litre of milk, and every egg produced is a carefully balanced nutritional formula developed by animal feed professionals and scientists.
Science behind feed formulation
Animal nutrition has evolved into a precise, evidence-driven discipline. It’s not just about grain, it’s about:
- Optimized digestibility, energy balance, and nutrient uptake
- Precision delivery of vitamins, minerals, and amino acids
- Ongoing research in microbiology, biochemistry, and gut health
- Innovations that improve feed efficiency and reduce waste
South Africa’s feed industry is built on science, sustainability, and smart resource use.
Ensuring feed safety and compliance
South Africa’s feed sector is subject to strict regulatory control, arguably even more regulated than human food in some areas, due to the knock-on effects on the food chain. High-quality feed is not only critical for animal health – it is fundamental to food safety and public trust.
The industry is governed and guided by:
Department of Agriculture: Regulates animal feed under Act 36/1947, which governs the registration, composition, labelling, and sale of fertilisers, farm feeds, agricultural remedies and stock remedies.
AFMA: Promotes industry-wide standards for feed safety and compliance among its members through a self-regulatory framework, guided by a Code of Conduct that ensures accountability, integrity, and continuous improvement across the sector.
Together, these institutions safeguard the integrity of the feed-to-food chain, ensuring that only safe, traceable, and scientifically proven feed products reach the market. Animal feed manufacturers must register all products under Act 36, making it one of the most transparent sectors in South Africa.
Experts behind the industry
Animal nutrition is more than formulas and calculations – it’s powered by people:
- Animal scientists and nutritionists:
Develop feed that balances performance, sustainability, and cost-efficiency. - Feed millers and formulation experts:
Ensure consistent, tailored, high-quality feed production. - Regulatory experts and quality assurance teams:
Protect both animal health and consumer trust through ongoing compliance.
These professionals drive South Africa’s globally competitive feed industry, enabling livestock producers to do more with less – sustainably and profitably.