Protein Research Foundation

What Protein Research Foundation does

The Protein Research Foundation (PRF) is a South African non-profit research foundation established in 2005 to promote protein crop production and reduce the country's dependence on imported oilcake for animal feed. Its operational scope spans soybeans, canola, lupins, sunflower, groundnuts, and ancillary protein sources, with activities covering summer crop regions (Mpumalanga, Free State, North West, KwaZulu-Natal, Northern Cape irrigation) and winter crop regions (Overberg Rûens, Southern Cape, Swartland). The organization is headquartered in Sandton with a postal address in Rivonia, South Africa.

The PRF's core outputs include a Research Database spanning 25+ years of historical data, statistical services such as Protein Needs Projections and Oilcake Demand Forecasts built on proprietary models (APR/Briedenhann, Nieuwoudt-McGuigan, and BFAP-based scenarios), a multi-platform Income and Cost Budget Calculator (ICB Calculator App) for farm financial planning, and a portfolio of recurring publications (Oilseeds Focus, Canolafokus, Lupino, Soja Bulletin). It funds postgraduate bursaries and research projects, hosts annual Soybean Symposia and Canola Information Days, and coordinates a work-group structure (Canola and Soybean Work Groups) involving industry bodies, provincial departments of agriculture, and university researchers (University of Pretoria, University of the Free State).

Its business model is non-commercial: the foundation is funded through industry contributions and levies tied to oilseed and protein crop production, and provides research funding, bursaries, publications, and digital tools free of charge to the agricultural community. It maintains data partnerships with AFMA, SAGIS, BFAP, Grain SA, BMR Unisa, and BER Stellenbosch. Pricing is not applicable as no commercial products are sold, and revenue is not publicly disclosed.

Name

Protein Research Foundation

Legal name

Protein Research Foundation

Website

https://proteinresearch.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Protein Research Foundation is a South African non-profit founded in 2005 that funds research, publishes data and projections, and provides free digital tools and bursaries to promote protein crop production — primarily soybeans, canola, lupins, sunflower, and groundnuts — for the South African farming, research, and animal feed communities.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Agricultural Research Services

NAICS

Oilseed and Grain Farming (1111), Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714), Educational Support Services (61171)

SIC

Agricultural Production-Crops (100), Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731), Agricultural Services (700)

akta.pro primary industry

Plant Protein Ingredients (Soy, Pea, Wheat/Gluten, Rice, Oat, Potato) (AFAJAHAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Protein Blends & Systems (Multi-Source Blends, Functional Protein Systems) (AFAJAHAJ)

Keywords

• Protein crop research
• Agricultural research funding
• Oilseed industry statistics
• Farm budget tools
• Agricultural publications

Headquarters

HQ city

Gauteng

HQ country

South Africa

HQ region

Africa

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The Protein Research Foundation is a South African non-profit foundation that funds and coordinates research into protein crops (soybeans, canola, lupins, sunflower, groundnuts) and delivers free information services to the agricultural community. Its offerings include research grants and postgraduate bursaries, statistical protein-demand and oilcake projections, the ICB Calculator App for farm budgeting, and industry publications such as Oilseeds Focus, Canolafokus, Lupino, and Soja Bulletin.

Product overview

The Protein Research Foundation (PRF) operates as a research funding and information services organization focused on protein crops in South Africa. Its core offerings include the ICB Calculator App (a multi-platform farm budgeting tool available as web, desktop, and Android applications), multiple newsletter publications (Canolafokus, Oilseeds Focus, Lupino, and Soja Bulletin), an online Research Database covering soybeans, canola, lupins, fish meal, sunflower, and groundnuts, and statistical services including Protein Needs Projections. The organization also publishes the PRF 25 Years commemorative book and maintains video galleries for technology transfer purposes.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Oilseeds Focus: Magazine publication covering oilseeds industry
• Canolafokus
• Lupino
• Soja Bulletin
• ICB Calculator App

Products and services

• ICB Calculator App A multi-platform farm budgeting application that allows users to calculate personal income and cost budgets for summer and winter crops in dryland and irrigation scenarios across South African regions.
• Oilseeds Focus Magazine A quarterly magazine publication covering oilseeds industry news, research updates, and market information for the South African protein crop sector.
• Canolafokus Newsletter A periodic newsletter dedicated to canola research, industry updates, and market information for the South African canola value chain.
• Lupino Newsletter A newsletter publication focused on lupin research, industry updates, and agricultural information for the South African lupin sector.
• Soja Bulletin A newsletter/bulletin publication dedicated to soybean research and industry information for South African soybean producers.
• Protein Crop Research Database An online research database indexing research projects across protein sources including soybeans, canola, lupins, fish meal, sunflower, groundnuts, protein utilisation, and other protein sources.
• Income & Cost Budgets Service A comprehensive farm budgeting service providing crop income and cost projections for summer crops (soybeans, maize, sunflower) and winter crops (canola, barley, oats, wheat) across various South African regions, supporting annual planning cycles.
• Protein Needs Projections A statistical service providing projections of protein needs for animal consumption, including oilcake demand forecasts under multiple economic scenarios (high/low income growth, protective tariffs retained or phased out).
• PRF 25 Years Coffee Table Book A commemorative hardcover publication documenting the Protein Research Foundation's 25-year history and achievements in protein crop research.

Quantifiable outcome

• Soybean area planted grew from 87,000 ha (1996) to 311,450 ha (2009/10), representing average annual growth of 14.12%
• +2 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• AFMA (Animal Feed Manufacturers Association)coreOthersAFMA provides annual reports with actual oilcake consumption and production data used as basis for PRF's projection models. PRF references AFMA data in protein needs projections.
• SAGIS (South African Grain Information Service)coreOthersSAGIS provides grain market information and statistics including weekly bulletins and monthly data that PRF uses for crop estimates and market analysis.
• BFAP (Bureau for Food and Agricultural Policy)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBFAP provides economic modeling and scenario planning data. PRF collaborated with BFAP to develop more accurate protein demand projections using their agricultural policy models.
• BMR Unisa (Bureau for Market Research at University of South Africa)coreOthersBMR provides population growth statistics and projections used in PRF's protein needs forecasting models.
• BER (Bureau for Economic Research at Stellenbosch University)minorOthersBER provides population growth projections referenced in PRF's early projection reports.
• Provincial Departments of Agriculture (Western Cape, etc.)coreOthersDLWK (Department of Agriculture, Western Cape) and other provincial departments collaborate on crop research, cultivar trials, and technology transfer through work group meetings.
• University of PretoriacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated with PRF to develop scenarios based on BFAP model for more accurate protein demand projections.
• University of the Free StatecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with PRF in developing BFAP-based scenarios for protein demand forecasting.
• SOILL (South African Oilseed Advisory Committee)coreOthersSOILL participates in PRF work groups and contributes to industry coordination for oilseed crops.
• Grain SAcoreOthersGSA (Grain South Africa) participates in PRF work groups and contributes to crop estimates and industry information sharing. GSA representatives attend canola and soybean work group meetings.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária (Embrapa): Brazilian agricultural research corporation with significant oilseed and soybean research programs. Comparable large-scale public-good agricultural research mandate, though operating at far greater scale and with commercial tech-transfer arms.

Regional players

• International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA): CGIAR-affiliated international research organization working on tropical crop improvement including soybean and oilseed legumes in Africa. Comparable research-funding and capacity-building mandate with an African focus.

Direct peers

• Canola Council of Canada: Industry-funded organization promoting canola research, market development, and grower information in Canada. Directly comparable to PRF's canola-focused mandate through work groups, publications, and producer-facing research dissemination.
• Grain South Africa (Grain SA): SA grain industry body that collaborates with PRF on work groups and crop estimates. Closely comparable industry-coordination function for SA oilseed and grain producers.
• South African Grain Information Service (SAGIS): SA grain and oilseed information service providing market statistics that PRF uses in its models. Closely comparable information-dissemination function for the SA grain/oilseed sector.
• Agricultural Research Council (South Africa): South Africa's statutory agricultural research body that conducts applied research across crops and livestock, including oilseeds and protein crops. Most direct domestic peer as both organizations fund and execute crop research for the SA agricultural sector.
• Bureau for Food and Agricultural Policy (BFAP): South African agricultural policy and economic modeling partner of PRF. Strong overlap in protein-demand modeling and scenario analysis methodologies used by PRF.

Emerging players

• Canola Research Cluster (AgriScience Cluster, Canada): Canadian canola research consortium funding multi-institution projects; conceptually similar to PRF's model of coordinating and funding applied protein-crop research.
• US Soybean Export Council (USSEC): International soybean promotion and research organization operating in the US and emerging markets. Comparable research-dissemination and market-development function, focused on soybean utilization.

Others

• World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Sustainable Agriculture Initiatives: Global NGO with sustainable-protein supply-chain programs relevant to PRF's mandate to reduce imported oilcake dependency. Comparable convening role in protein-supply sustainability but with global scope.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCcEJDsBhVvPSI0ufG97ZzIw
• Facebookfacebook.com/proteinresearch.net
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/protein-research-foundation-prf

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Protein Research Foundation