Success! The Karoo Lamb GI has been officially registered in South Africa

Science at work 16 January 2024

The Karoo Lamb GI was officially registered in South Africa on 27 October 2023, following 15 years of investigations, research and collaboration within the Karoo Lamb value chain. CIRAD and AFD, through the GI Support Fund, have been supporting the Karoo Lamb GI Project since February 2022, and registration of the GI heralds a new chapter for the value chain.

Sheep in the semi-desert natural landscape of the Karoo © Sybrand Venter
Sheep in the semi-desert natural landscape of the Karoo © Sybrand Venter

The second GI product in South Africa

As reported on 6 July 2022, CIRAD, via the GI Support Fund, has been working with South Africa’s Karoo Lamb Consortium to register a GI (geographical indication) for Karoo Lamb, recognizing its unique identity and quality linked to its origin. That work paid off on 27 October 2023, with the official registration of the GI in South Africa, making Karoo Lamb South Africa’s second GI product, after Rooibos.

A major milestone for the Karoo Lamb value chain

This registration is a major contribution to the development of the Karoo Lamb GI value chain. It provides legal protection, ensures product authenticity, and enhances market value, which will benefit the Karoo region and more specifically the Karoo Lamb Consortium (Collective Management Organization) and value chain stakeholders.

The second project funded by the GI Support Fund

The Karoo Lamb GI was the second project to be funded by the GI Support Fund. The Fund is implemented by AFD and CIRAD, and was launched in 2021 to provide technical and financial support for the development of GIs in Africa and the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries. The Karoo Lamb Consortium responded to a call for projects from the GI Support Fund, becoming the second project to be funded, after madd from Casamance in Senegal and ahead of Wagashi Gassirè cheese from Benin.