A Systematic Review of Constraints Associated with the Beef Value Chain in the Southern African Development Community (SADC)

More than 30 years after the formation of the AU, intra-African trade remains relatively low in magnitude. Africa aims to increase inter-and intra-African trade through the African Continental Free Trade Area (AFCFTA). To realise this, Africa must boost production, especially agricultural production, which has remained stubbornly low. This study aimed to identify some of the factors contributing to this issue in the red meat and live animals value chain, which is a priority value chain for the SADC. In the SADC, beef is the dominant product, so it was selected as the focus of this study. A systematic review was used to identify factors that constrain beef production. Boolean search strings were used to identify relevant literature from databases. Inclusion-exclusion criteria were based on abstract content. Since some of the literature was dated, focus group discussions, value chain analysis workshops, and a validation workshop were used to confirm the constraints. Market-related constraints, namely: lack of market information, market segmentation, cost of compliance; Production-related constraints, namely: disease prevalence, lack of technology adoption, hygiene issues; Structural constraints, namely: infrastructure gaps, governance issues, and lack of integration; and Social constraints, namely: gender imbalance, were identified. Addressing these constraints will enable the SADC to increase both inter- and intra-SADC beef trade.