David Spies is a senior lecturer in the School of Economic Sciences at the North-West University (Potchefstroom Campus). Dr Spies’ interests lie in the fields of production economics, value chain analysis, marketing and trade.  Through his work, he has made a particularly important contribution to the South African red meat industry, both in the commercial and informal sectors. Future research work that Dr Spies is planning will include improvements to agricultural productivity in the informal sector in South Africa.