Meet the Young Female Farmer Behind a Brine-Free, Uninjected Poultry Business in Idutywa

What does it take to build a poultry business that follows a chicken from day-old chick to slaughter, processing and the market?

For Kanyisa Bele, the journey has been about starting small, building gradually and creating a poultry business that can participate in more stages of the agricultural value chain.

Based in Idutywa, Eastern Cape, M&B Projects is developing a poultry operation that combines broiler production, slaughtering, processing and packaging.

But there is another feature that forms an important part of the business’s product offering:

M&B Projects’ broilers are brine-free and uninjected.

The chickens are produced and processed without brine injection, giving customers a straightforward poultry product proposition centred on the chicken itself.

And the journey does not end at slaughter. After slaughter, meat samples are submitted to a national laboratory for testing before the meat is supplied to customers, adding an important quality and food-safety step to the production process.

It Started With Just 100 Broilers

Every agricultural business has a beginning.

For M&B Projects, that beginning was in 2022, when the business started with just 100 broilers.

The small beginning did not stop the vision from growing. By 2023, the business had progressed to supplying whole chickens to Spar.

That early market experience highlighted an important reality of farming: producing the product is only one part of the business. Finding and maintaining markets is equally important.

For Kanyisa, the journey has therefore been about developing not only the production side of poultry farming, but also the infrastructure and systems needed to move chicken from the farm towards the customer.

From Day-Old Chicks to the Abattoir

M&B Projects follows a poultry production model that takes day-old chicks through a six-week broiler production cycle, before moving the birds into slaughtering, processing and packaging.

This allows the business to participate in several stages of the poultry value chain.

In 2025, M&B Projects launched a throughput village abattoir, creating processing capacity within the business.

For an emerging rural agricultural business, establishing an abattoir represents an important step towards value addition.

Instead of stopping at live-bird production, the business can move further along the chain—from growing broilers to slaughtering, processing and preparing poultry products for the market.

Brine-Free. Uninjected. The Chicken Is the Product.

In a market where consumers increasingly want to understand what they are buying, M&B Projects wants its poultry offering to be clear.

These are brine-free, uninjected broilers.

The chickens are not injected with brine as part of the product offering. M&B Projects is positioning its poultry around the chicken itself rather than relying on brine injection to alter the product.

For customers, this gives the product a straightforward proposition: chicken from a local poultry business, processed through an abattoir in Idutywa, without brine injection.

From Slaughter to the Laboratory: Safety Before Supply

The journey does not end when the chickens leave the slaughter line.

After slaughter, meat samples are submitted to a national laboratory for testing before the meat can be supplied to customers.

This adds an important quality-control step between slaughter and the market.

The process highlights that commercial poultry production involves more than raising birds and processing them. It also requires attention to food safety, quality control, testing, handling and compliance.

Day-old chick → Broiler production → Slaughter → Processing → Laboratory testing → Packaging → Market

Each stage forms part of the journey towards getting the final poultry product to the customer.

Why Having an Abattoir Changes the Story

For many emerging poultry farmers, the production cycle can end when a live bird is sold.

M&B Projects is taking a different approach. With an abattoir and processing capability, the business can participate further along the poultry value chain through slaughtering, processing and packaging.

The business identifies markets including schools, restaurants and food-service businesses, government institutions and retail customers.

The business also identifies opportunities to supply chicken portions to schools through the National School Nutrition Programme.

This is where value addition becomes important.

The question is no longer simply: “How many chickens can we produce?”

It becomes: “How can we produce, process and supply a product that meets the needs of different markets?”

A Young Woman Building Her Place in Agriculture

Kanyisa’s story is also a story about women in agriculture.

Agriculture is changing, and women are increasingly participating not only as producers, but as entrepreneurs, business managers and value-chain participants.

Running a poultry business requires much more than feeding chickens. There is production planning, animal health, feed management, infrastructure, labour, financial management, compliance, slaughtering, processing, packaging, marketing and customer relations.

Kanyisa’s journey demonstrates the combination of agricultural production and entrepreneurship required to build a modern poultry enterprise.

Building a Rural Poultry Value Chain in Idutywa

M&B Projects is based in Timane Location, Idutywa, Eastern Cape.

Its vision extends beyond supplying a single customer. The business has identified several market opportunities:

• Public and private schools
• Restaurants and food-service businesses
• Hotels and other hospitality businesses
• Government institutions
• Retail markets
• Supermarkets
• Caterers and institutional buyers

The aim is to build relationships with customers who require a reliable supply of poultry products.

For a rural agricultural business, market diversification can create opportunities to grow while strengthening participation in the local poultry value chain.

The Next Goal: More Schools, Hotels and Restaurants

M&B Projects’ next chapter is about market access.

The business wants to build relationships with more schools, hotels, restaurants, caterers, retailers and institutional buyers.

The opportunity is bigger than simply selling more chickens. It is about building long-term commercial relationships.

A school could require chicken portions. A restaurant may need a consistent supply of poultry. A hotel may require reliable deliveries. A retailer may want locally produced chicken.

Each customer represents a potential connection between rural poultry production and the consumer.

And that is the bigger vision behind M&B Projects’ focus on market access.

A Call to Potential Buyers

As M&B Projects continues developing its poultry operation, the business is looking to connect with potential customers who value locally produced poultry.

Schools. Hotels. Restaurants. Caterers. Retailers. Institutional buyers.

These are some of the markets the business hopes to reach as it expands.

For potential buyers, M&B Projects offers a poultry value chain that begins with day-old chicks, moves through broiler production and slaughter, and continues through processing and laboratory testing before supply.

Brine-free. Uninjected. Locally produced.

The Challenges Behind the Chicken on the Plate

Behind every chicken reaching a customer is a production system that requires planning, investment and discipline.

Poultry businesses must manage feed costs, water, infrastructure, equipment, animal health, biosecurity, labour, processing, packaging, transportation and compliance.

For an emerging rural business, these challenges can be significant.

That is why agricultural entrepreneurship requires more than passion. It requires planning, financial management, technical knowledge, persistence and market awareness.

M&B Projects’ journey demonstrates how an operation can develop progressively—from a small flock towards a more integrated poultry business.

From a Small Flock to a Bigger Vision

The story of M&B Projects is still being written.

The business has identified growth ambitions that include increasing production, diversifying its customer base and expanding its market footprint beyond Idutywa and the Eastern Cape.

But growth is not only about the number of chickens produced.

• More customers.
• More market opportunities.
• More value added.
• More local economic activity.
• More opportunities for locally produced poultry to reach consumers.

What Emerging Farmers Can Learn From Kanyisa’s Journey

1. Start Small, But Think Big — M&B Projects started with 100 broilers. A small beginning does not have to mean a small vision.

2. Know Your Market — Production needs to be connected to customers. The business’s early supply relationship with Spar demonstrated the importance of market access.

3. Add Value — Moving beyond live-bird production into slaughtering, processing and packaging can create additional opportunities within the agricultural value chain.

4. Make Food Safety Part of the Business — Producing for customers requires attention to quality, safety, testing and compliance. M&B Projects’ post-slaughter laboratory-testing process forms part of this journey.

5. Know What Makes Your Product Different — For M&B Projects, one of the key product messages is clear: brine-free and uninjected broilers.

6. Keep Looking for Markets — As production develops, farmers need to keep building relationships with potential customers. For M&B Projects, the next focus is reaching more schools, hotels, restaurants, retailers and institutional buyers.

The Journey Is Still Being Written

From 100 broilers in 2022 to a poultry operation with an abattoir in Idutywa, Kanyisa Bele’s journey reflects the development of a rural agricultural enterprise step by step.

But the story does not end at slaughter.

The chickens move through processing. Samples go to the laboratory for testing. The product is prepared for the market. And the business continues searching for new customers.

The next chapter is about market access.

More schools. More hotels. More restaurants. More businesses. More communities.

For this young female farmer, the vision is not simply to raise chickens. It is to build a poultry business that participates meaningfully in the agricultural value chain—from day-old chick to finished product.

FROM DAY-OLD CHICKS TO SLAUGHTER.
FROM THE ABATTOIR TO THE LABORATORY.
FROM THE LABORATORY TO THE MARKET.

M&B Projects is building its poultry story one chicken at a time.

About M&B Projects

M&B Projects is a poultry-focused agribusiness based in Idutywa, Eastern Cape. The business produces broilers and has developed its operations to include slaughtering, processing and packaging. Its identified target markets include schools, restaurants and food-service businesses, government institutions and retail customers.

Product Highlight

• Brine-free
• Uninjected
• Locally produced
• Processed in Idutywa
• Meat samples submitted for laboratory testing after slaughter before supply