Latest news with #FMDIndaba
IOL News
22-07-2025
- Business
- IOL News
Steenhuisen calls for a robust strategy to combat Foot and Mouth Disease outbreak
This comes as the agricultural industry is reeling from the economic toll of the ongoing FMD outbreak, with losses that run into hundreds of millions of rand and threatened food security. Image: Neo Ntsoma/Independent Newspapers Minister of Agriculture, John Steenhuisen, has decried the country's level of preparedness to deal with the outbreak of the Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD). This comes as the agricultural industry is reeling from the economic toll of the ongoing FMD outbreak, with losses that run into hundreds of millions of rand and threatened food security. Speaking at the FMD Indaba on Monday, Steenhuisen said the disease has brought sobering lessons to light, exposing weaknesses in the response system during the most recent outbreak. 'What we saw was a response system stretched to its limits, with breakdowns in communication, severe delays in vaccine availability, confusion over movement controls, and an alarming lack of readiness at several levels of government. Farmers were unsure of the measures. Provinces were uncertain of the protocols. And while the virus spread, trust in the State's capacity to respond continued to erode,' Steenhuisen said. 'One of the most damaging consequences of this outbreak was our inability to contain the economic fallout. Because South Africa has no functional regionalisation framework, the entire country was penalised through the eyes of our trading partners, despite the outbreak being localised to specific zones. Exports of cloven-hoofed animals, and their products, were suspended or slowed. Jobs were lost. And the reputational damage to our animal health system is one that will take time, and action, to repair. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Next Stay Close ✕ 'The core lesson is this: we cannot continue managing FMD outbreaks with outdated structures and fragmented authority, hoping that a patchwork of short-term measures will deliver long-term stability. We need an innovative approach––one that is science-based, constitutionally aligned, and practically implementable.' As a result, Steenhuisen said the industry must urgently and properly regionalise its disease control framework. Steenhuisen said every credible trading nation acknowledges that a localized outbreak should not lead to sweeping restrictions across an entire country yet South Africa lags in establishing, certifying, and maintaining disease control zones that align with international standards. 'Let me be clear: the failure to regionalise is not due to a lack of veterinary science. It is due to a lack of institutional coordination, legal clarity and capacity,' he said. 'To address this, I have appointed two senior veterinarians, Dr Emily Mogajane and Dr Nomsa Mnisi with extensive field, government and international trade experience to lead the development of a comprehensive national regionalisation framework.' Steenhuisen said another glaring issue during the outbreak was the lack of vaccine availability. With the national FMD vaccine bank depleted, South Africa was forced to import vaccines from Botswana, underscoring a system that is not sustainable given our livestock footprint and export ambitions. Steenhuisen said the government was stabilising Onderstepoort Biological Products, the leading distributor of livestock vaccines, but that will take time thus vaccine security requires private sector partnership. 'We are calling on the livestock industry, especially the red meat, dairy and game sectors, to begin co-financing vaccine procurement,' Steenhuisen said. 'This does not mean you will manage the vaccines or the cold chains. But it does mean that, like in other agro-industries, we establish structured partnerships that ensure we are not caught unprepared again.' Furthermore, Steenhuisen said infrastructure deficits within the protection zones have hindered effective movement control. He said animals are often moved illegally due to the absence of local abattoirs or feedlots, complicating the enforcement of necessary regulations. As a result, he said funding will be allocated this year to support the establishment of feedlots and abattoirs within the protection zones, predominantly in Limpopo, KwaZulu-Natal, and Mpumalanga, creating rural jobs and aiding the enforcement of FMD control measures. To combat the spread of animal diseases and address the growing challenges of climate change, Steenhuisen said investment in scientific research and development was essential. Steenhuisen said initiatives were underway to collaborate with the National Agricultural Marketing Council to earmark a portion of statutory levies for research targeting both animal health and climate resilience. He also said the Agricultural Research Council (ARC) was poised for a resurgence, having recently achieved a surplus, signalling the potential for a renewed focus on core scientific capabilities. Strategic partnerships with institutions such as the University of Pretoria's Biosecurity Hub are set to elevate South Africa's research ecosystem to meet both biosecurity and climate challenges, fostering a more resilient agricultural sector. 'To ensure that these outcomes of this Indaba are not just aspirational but actionable, I will be appointing a dedicated team immediately after this gathering to consolidate the proposals and insights shared here today,' he said. 'This team will be tasked with finalising a practical, time-bound operational plan, one that reflects both the urgency of our challenge and the collective wisdom in this room. That plan will be presented to me within a defined timeframe and will serve as the blueprint for our implementation going forward.' BUSINESS REPORT
Daily Maverick
21-07-2025
- Health
- Daily Maverick
Agriculture minister calls for private sector partnership to combat foot-and-mouth disease crisis
South Africa's vibrant and diversified agricultural sector faces many challenges including climate change and trade wars, and it can't afford own goals stemming from a lack of vaccines. Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen has called on the private sector to help finance the procurement of crucial vaccines to contain the spread of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) among cattle and to address other biosecurity concerns that threaten South Africa's agricultural sector. Last week, the Department of Agriculture reported a new FMD outbreak in the Free State, bringing the total to 270 across five provinces in South Africa — a state of affairs that has seen export bans imposed by trading partners and put individual operators in jeopardy, delivering a hammer blow to the livestock sector. In his prepared opening remarks on Monday, 21 July 2025 at an FMD Indaba organised by the department, Steenhuisen noted that 'vaccine availability' was a 'crucial area where the system broke down during the recent outbreak'. 'The national FMD vaccine bank was depleted… As a result, we were compelled to import vaccines from Botswana to mount even a partial response.' Botswana, where cattle are venerated and the commercial livestock sector plays a significant role in the economy, was prepared. South Africa by unflattering contrast got caught with its pants down in the kraal. The stench from this steaming pile of manure leads straight to Onderstepoort Biological Products (OBP), the state-run national vaccine facility that was once state of the art but has, in recent years, become another example of state failure. 'We are calling on the livestock industry, especially the red meat, dairy and game sectors, to begin cofinancing vaccine procurement. This does not mean you will manage the vaccines or the cold chains. But it does mean that, like in other agro-industries, we establish structured partnerships that ensure we are not caught unprepared again,' Steenhuisen said. 'The time has come to build a nationally managed but jointly funded vaccine bank, not only for FMD, but for lumpy skin disease, brucellosis, Rift Valley Fever, and all other controlled diseases affecting trade and production.' This echoes other initiatives by the government to involve the private sector in partnerships to address the many challenges undermining South Africa's slow-growth economy. The minister also said that Onderstepoort Biological Products was 'stabilising' (whatever that means) — and that he had appointed two senior veterinarians, Dr Emily Mogajane and Dr Nomsa Mnisi, to develop 'a comprehensive national regionalisation framework'. 'Every credible trading nation in the world understands the principle of regionalisation, that an outbreak in one part of a country should not result in blanket trade restrictions for the entire nation. However, South Africa remains woefully behind in establishing, certifying and maintaining disease control zones that can be recognised by our international partners,' Steenhuisen said. 'Let me be clear: the failure to regionalise is not due to a lack of veterinary science. It is due to a lack of institutional coordination, legal clarity and capacity.' What this means for you There have been concerns that the outbreaks will push up meat prices, bucking the general trend of cooling food inflation. But the export bans are also seen as boosting domestic supplies, which should contain prices. Your braai might just be more affordable than it was two months ago. Having a reliable source of vaccines is in the industry's best interests and it could bring capital to the state's cash-strapped table. Vaccines are absolutely crucial for containing outbreaks of animal disease. For consumers, FMD is not a food safety concern. Other measures outlined in his remarks included a proposal to earmark a portion of statutory levels for research and development. South Africa's vibrant and diversified agricultural sector faces many challenges including climate change and trade wars, and it can't afford its own goals stemming from a lack of vaccines and the certification and isolation of disease control zones. DM
