South Africa, Namibia and Botswana must work together against foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), South Africa's Minister of Agriculture, Willie Aucamp, told a public meeting in Bothaville in the Free State this week, saying his department is in constant contact with its counterparts in both countries.
"It would be counterproductive to try to combat the disease in isolation," Aucamp said. South Africa has made 50,000 vaccine doses available to Namibia, Eswatini and Lesotho so far this year.
Red meat imports from Botswana and Namibia remain stopped: both countries' borders have been closed to exports and cattle movement suspended. Aucamp said resuming imports depends largely on agreeing biosecurity protocols. South Africa has sent protocols to Botswana and is awaiting a reply, and compartmentalising FMD-free zones in Botswana is one option for restarting trade.
At home, the minister credited progress against the disease largely to the private sector's role in producing and distributing vaccines. The Agricultural Research Council (ARC) makes 20,000 doses a month, while millions are needed to vaccinate the national herd of 15.2 million cattle.
Aucamp welcomed the ARC's decision to make its vaccine-manufacturing intellectual property available to private companies, adding that the royalties the council earns will be ring-fenced for vaccine production.
He also urged an end to the friction between parts of organised agriculture and government officials since the outbreak. "The time has come for role players in the sector to talk with each other and not about each other," he said.
Photo: Justinjerez / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Source: Farmers Weekly South Africa
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