Southern Africa’s poultry sector needs to deliberately develop a stronger class of medium-scale enterprises to broaden ownership, create jobs and support more inclusive industrialization, according to an opinion piece by Ishmael Sunga, Southern African Confederation of Agricultural Unions CEO.
Building the Missing Middle
Sunga argues that the poultry industry remains divided between micro and small producers operating largely at a survivalist level and large integrated companies that hold significant positions across feed, production, processing, distribution and market access. Between those two groups, he identifies a “missing middle” of medium-scale enterprises that could operate commercially, supply formal markets and create decent jobs.
The gap is not simply a matter of access to financing, Sunga writes. It also involves ownership, infrastructure, management capacity, market access, biosecurity, bargaining power and participation in supply chains. Many emerging poultry businesses have progressed beyond the needs of micro-enterprise programs but lack the scale and capabilities required to secure major commercial contracts, access affordable finance and consistently meet formal standards.
Opportunities Across the Value Chain
Sunga identifies poultry as a practical sector in which to develop this missing middle because of strong demand, relatively short production cycles and opportunities throughout the value chain. Medium-scale enterprises can operate in broiler and egg production, feed distribution, hatcheries, day-old chick supply, veterinary services, poultry housing, slaughtering, cold storage, transportation, packaging, aggregation, branding and distribution.
Developing these businesses could create employment while maintaining local ownership and allowing enterprises to respond to regional, peri-urban, township and institutional markets. Sunga also argues that medium-scale enterprises could support smaller producers by creating structured demand, aggregation channels, service networks and greater market discipline.
Young Entrepreneurs at the Center
Young women and men should be central to this strategy, according to Sunga, as they represent the next generation of enterprise leadership. Their familiarity with digital tools, mobile payments, online marketing, data and emerging technologies could help modernize poultry businesses and improve decision-making.
Women entrepreneurs also have opportunities to build on their participation in food trading and community supply networks, particularly in customer relationships, distribution and household and community food security.
Sunga contends that developing medium-scale enterprises would require a greater emphasis on professionalization. Emerging poultry businesses need stronger governance, production planning, financial controls, traceability, biosecurity, quality assurance, contract management and digital systems for records, payments, logistics and market intelligence.
Professionalization and Bankability
Training, mentorship, coaching, attachments and certification also can help entrepreneurs meet procurement standards, access financing, negotiate with buyers and move into higher-value parts of the poultry value chain.
Professionalization ultimately means building enterprises capable of producing to specification, accurately pricing products, honoring contracts, managing disease risks, maintaining reliable records and meeting delivery schedules. Without those capabilities, Sunga argues, financing remains risky and formal markets remain difficult to access.
Building an Enterprise Platform
The opinion piece calls for an enterprise-development platform that combines policy support, blended finance, shared infrastructure, technical assistance, professionalization and structured market access.
Among the proposed measures are youth- and women-led poultry enterprise clusters connected to hatcheries, abattoirs, cold-storage facilities, feed depots and logistics hubs. Staged financing could allow businesses to progress from startup and expansion support to working capital, asset finance and commercial credit.
Off-take agreements with retailers, public institutions, wholesalers, processors and food-service companies could provide emerging businesses with access to established markets. Sunga also advocates expanding opportunities beyond primary production so young entrepreneurs can build businesses in services, logistics, processing, inputs and marketing.
Role for Industry and Policymakers
Policymakers and regulators can help by recognizing medium-scale poultry enterprise development as an industrialization and employment priority, reducing barriers to formalization and strengthening biosecurity and food-safety systems. Youth, agriculture, small-business and industrial policies also could be better aligned to support enterprise development.
Development organizations can shift from short-term project support toward integrated enterprise-building platforms that combine incubation, coaching, certification, infrastructure access, market linkages and performance-based graduation.
Development finance institutions and commercial lenders can develop blended finance windows, credit guarantees, working-capital facilities and asset-finance products linked to business performance, off-take agreements and professionalization milestones.
Industry participants, retailers and processors can support emerging businesses through supplier-development programs, off-take contracts, technical assistance and local sourcing commitments. Producer organizations and training institutions can help build a pipeline of entrepreneurs through mentorship, peer learning, certification, business coaching and practical exposure to commercially viable poultry operations.
Measuring Transformation
Sunga proposes that developing the missing middle become a measure of transformation for Southern Africa’s poultry industry. A stronger base of medium-scale enterprises would help move the sector beyond a structure dominated by survivalist production at one end and concentrated large-scale ownership at the other.
Building commercially disciplined enterprises led by young women and men could broaden ownership, create jobs, strengthen food security and improve the competitiveness of the regional poultry sector. For Sunga, strengthening enterprise ownership is a central component of future-proofing Southern Africa’s poultry industry.
Source: Southern African Confederation of Agricultural Unions, " Future-Proofing Southern Africa’s Poultry Economy: Why the “Missing Middle” Must Become the Next Frontier of Inclusive Agribusiness"