By Nico van Burick

Karoo Lamb from the Central Karoo, which now enjoys official status as a South African geographical indication (GI), has just received one of the prestigious Western Cape awards for economic innovation.

A total of 14 awards were presented to reward excellence and economic innovation and recognise people and organisations that, through creative thinking and innovative approaches, promote meaningful economic growth in the Western Cape.

The Cape Chamber of Commerce and Industry is responsible for the annual innovation awards, and Prof. Johann Kirsten, a board member of the Karoo Lamb Consortium, accepted the award. He has been at the helm of the research programme on Karoo Lamb’s uniqueness and has set the rules.

Karoo Lamb is the first product besides rooibos tea to be officially registered by the state as a geographical indicator in South Africa. It is known for its unique taste, quality and health characteristics. Registration as a GI means that the lamb meat can only be called Karoo Lamb if the animals have been fed on natural Karoo wheat under free-range conditions and slaughtered there.

This involves some 200 farms with about 2 million hectares of natural pasture that comply with GI regulations. Around 15 slaughterhouses sell the exceptional product, and five abattoirs are registered for the slaughter.

Kirsten says it took years of research to determine the necessary practices, traceability and rules for determining Karoo Lamb’s unique nature. After all had been determined, the Department of Agriculture was also assisted in drawing up the necessary regulations for GI, specifically for Karoo Lamb.

“It is mainly producers who benefit because they have never been able to enjoy the real value of their unique product. Producers in other parts of the country often labelled their meat as Karoo Lamb, and everyone priced it the same. Now the actual producers of Karoo Lamb can earn a premium that will also benefit towns in the Karoo, job creation and other residents there.”

He believes it will also boost Karoo Lamb exports and will continue to benefit the Karoo for decades to come.