Integrated beef provenance, blockchain security and payments platform in demand in South Africa
There is now, more than ever, a greater global need for complete transparency and accountability in the beef supply chain. Amidst new COVID-19 regulations, it has become vitally important to establish food provenance that eliminates the chance of misleading consumers as well as protecting the South African beef industry.
Joint Venture a first in South Africa
The launch of BeefLedger SA answers this call for urgent action. DataLedger (PTY) Ltd, the equal joint venture partnership between the ground-breaking Australian company, BeefLedger AUS and South African tech investment company The Tech Business, aims to commercialise core technological capabilities in the meat and other supply chains across the African continent.
“BeefLedger SA will provide a solid basis for adapting a combination of well-understood operational frameworks and guidelines, mature technologies and leading-edge information systems to achieve best practice outcomes for the South African beef industry. This transparency will ensure the proper and proven certification at every stage of the beef supply chain,” comments Warwick Powell, Chairman of BeefLedger AUS.
In developing the first blockchain-enabled traceability solution for the beef supply chain in South Africa, BeefLedger SA offers a digital livestock identification and traceability system (LITS) that can validate ‘farm to fork’ authenticity of its beef products.
Greater transparency and accountability
At the helm of this joint venture is Anzill Adams, a seasoned agricultural sector executive who explains, “With the recent outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in South Africa and the global advent of COVID-19, the implementation of a livestock identification and traceability system (LITS) is a priority for the South African beef supply chain.”
The BeefLedger SA blockchain-enabled credentialed traceability system will provide users in the South African beef industry with the value-added benefits of access to credible and authentic data, sale history, consumer feedback insights, streamlined payments, and heightened food security. The system will also contribute towards better disease prevention and Biosecurity management outcomes. It has the potential to revolutionise the industry by supporting food provenance-driven value, preventing food fraud and creating more transparent markets for participants.
Integrating formal and informal sectors
BeefLedger South Africa’s technology will enable a fairer and more sustainable beef supply chain as credentialed food provenance creates a closer bond between producers and consumers. Various stakeholders, including Government, leading industry players and smaller communal farmers are set to benefit from this new technology.
The BeefLedger SA digital platforms and tools will enable meat industries and their participants in South Africa to meet the aspirations and needs of 21st century consumers (both globally and in South Africa).
Access to varied markets
The future vision of this joint venture is to provide digital LITS services to the broader meat sector covering lamb, goat, pork, beef, ostrich, and poultry. Other sectors including the wine, seafood and mining industries will also be supported, with the potential for further horizontal integration planned into areas, for example, such as the Beauty/Lifestyle and Halal food sectors, where the need for 100% transparency and traceability is a non-negotiable necessity.
High Demand for Beef
Demand for beef in Africa is expected to grow significantly. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) estimates that the consumption of beef on the continent will increase by 200% between 2015 and 2050. With supply-side constraints, pressure for credentialed product is expected to grow. (See https://africanbusinessmagazine.com/sectors/agriculture/raising-the-steaks-africas-booming-meat-industry/)
Estimates indicate that Africa has a cattle herd well over 260m head as well as a goat herd of over 236m head. (See https://www.drovers.com/article/world-cattle-inventory-ranking-countries-fao).
South Africa, and Africa in general, is also growing its export markets into Europe as well as into China via the Belt & Road Initiative.
About the Joint Venture
DataLedger is a Broad Based Black Economic Empowered (BBBEE) accredited company and is in the business of developing and providing RFID (IOT) enabled blockchain asset track and trace solutions for agricultural and other sectors’ supply chain management. DataLedger South Africa’s founding shareholders are:
- BeefLedger Ltd;
- SCP Capital Pty Ltd (an Australian boutique funds management firm); and
- The Tech Business (Pty) Ltd.
Anzill Adams, CEO BeefLedger South Africa
DataLedger is the brainchild of Anzill Adams. He has held senior executive positions in the South African wine industry for 20 years with diverse roles in supply chain management including vineyard and cellar management, distribution, and logistics, developing market and sales strategies for local and international markets. He has extensive experience in business strategy development and implementation, product development and RFID technology development. Anzill’s wine industry leadership and expertise have seen him appointed to various bodies and positions including: Ministerial Appointee to the Wine and Spirits Board, Company Director of Riebeeck Cellars, Wines of South Africa (WOSA), Managing Director of Dominion Wines (Paarl), CEO of Louisville Wines (Stellenbosch) and co-ordinator of the first Land Reform Project in the South African wine industry on behalf of the National Department of Agriculture. He holds an MBA from the University of Cape Town and is completing his PhD in blockchain traceability in the South African red meat supply chain. He is supported by a team of seasoned entrepreneurs with years of business, financial and agricultural experience.
Carey Millerd, Chairman DataLedger
Carey has over 35 years of working experience mainly in financial services. He retired in 2016 but remains a non-executive director of various of the Prescient group companies. Since then he has pursued interests in various businesses including those in the Property, Fintech, and Agriculture sectors.
Warwick Powell, Chairman BeefLedger AUS
Warwick began his career in academia, teaching Chinese history and European cultural history at Griffith University in the early 1990s. He graduated with First Class Honours and is the recipient of the prestigious University Medal for Academic Excellence. Warwick was also awarded a Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade scholarship to undertake postgraduate studies at People’s University, Beijing. He deferred his studies to begin work for Kevin Rudd in the Queensland Government.He is the chairman and founder of Sister City Partners Limited, a not-for-profit investment bank focusing on developing links between regional Australia and the markets of Asia. Through this work, Warwick has experience in diverse industries including cattle and sheep production and processing, information and communication technology, infrastructure, energy, natural resources, travel and tourism and property development.
He is a director of several funds management companies responsible for funds established under an ASIC-approved Australian Financial Services License. He is a member of the Central Highlands Accelerate Agribusiness Advisory Board and was the founding Treasurer of Innovation NQ Inc., a not-for-profit innovation incubator in North Queensland.
He continues to teach professional courses in areas such as innovation, creativity, regional economic development and blockchain technology with James Cook University, QUT and Edith Cowan University.
Charles Morris, Director BeefLedger AUS
Charles has over 30 years of experience in Financial Services, Sales and Accounting, originally from the UK, he has spent the last 15 years Australia. He is a Director of BeefLedger Limited, SCP Capital Pty Ltd, Liberty Post & Co Pty Ltd and Investors Exchange Limited (AFSL 299024). Charles has an in-depth supply chain knowledge which was developed in the UK and expanded upon in Australia and China.
He has been involved in the BeefLedger project for the last 4 years, travelling extensively through China visiting Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Nanjing, Shenzhen, Huizhou, Qingdao, Chengdu, Wuhu, Changshu and Hong Kong to fully understand the needs and expectations of both consumers and regulators. His focus is on the user engagement side of the business, enabling established businesses to transition into the technology age seamlessly.
Charles’ experience in finance has also enabled the development of new tools to add liquidity, integrity, security, and transparency to the supply chain. He is fully involved with the Food Agility CRC project on smart contracts that BeefLedger leads with Queensland University of Technology and the Future Foods System CRC project around Smart Trade Hubs, also with QUT.
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