1.

Introduction

The purpose of the annual research report of the Protein Research Foundation (PRF) is to keep stakeholders informed of the activities of the PRF and the research funded by the PRF, which is an attempt to make South Africa less dependent on imported protein for animal consumption.

The playing field changes annually to such an extent that the PRF finds it necessary constantly to keep abreast of national and international developments in areas of importance to the PRF. Policy decisions made by the PRF in response to these developments are reported on below. A general overview of the current playing field is given, as are the results from the decisions made previously.

For almost the 10th year in a row, involvement in and funding of research by the South African Government continues to decline with no end in sight. The so-called "10 years of democracy" have been celebrated widely, but the economic realities of mistakes that have been made in that time, especially in agriculture, are being highlighted internationally. The PRF is proud of the research that is reported here as well as its quality consi­dering these adverse conditions. As the actions of the PRF are to the advantage of all the people of South Africa, we hope that the goals and actions of the PRF will be supported by Government to the advantage of South Africa and its entire population.

The PRF wishes to voice the belief that this and future research reports will be recognized as proof of our trust in and commitment to research on protein for animal consumption, and to demonstrate that we have indeed made progress in achieving the goal of increasing selfsufficiency in South Africa.