As both a cattle and goat farmer and an agricultural consultant, Ndumiso Gule sees first-hand the devastating impact of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) on South Africa’s livestock value chain. He fears that the disease could one day reach his own farm.
By Lloyd Phillips, senior journalist at African Farming and Landbouweekblad
As an agricultural consultant, Ndumiso Gule is constantly confronted with the extremely negative impact of the uncontrolled spread of FMD on the industry. And as a producer, he knows what it would mean if his farm in KwaZulu-Natal’s Ashburton district had to be placed under quarantine.
He recalls the shock many farmers felt when Karan Beef – renowned for its world-class biosecurity – was hit by the disease. “Emotionally, I am in fear,” he says. “If FMD could get through Karan Beef’s defences, how can individual farmers like us prevent it from reaching our farms?”
He has deep sympathy for the many livestock farmers already living under quarantine restrictions. For some, it has been four years since KwaZulu-Natal’s first foot-and-mouth disease management area (FMDA) was announced in 2021.
‘Allow Private Sector Vaccines’
“Most of the livestock farmers under quarantine have no legal way of earning an income from their animals,” Gule says. “They are desperate. I can tell you that all kinds and levels of farmers are making plans to move animals [illegally] out of the FMDA. They have to make a living.”
His own farm is not under quarantine, but he says it is costly to maintain strict biosecurity. He has implemented every measure he can afford, but he knows this is no guarantee. If a suspected or confirmed case of FMD were detected within a 10 km radius, his farm could still be quarantined.
For Gule, the solution lies in vaccination.
“The government, especially Dr Mpho Maja [director of Animal Health at the Department of Agriculture], must please allow private companies to develop, manufacture and supply foot-and-mouth vaccines,” he urges. “Government’s current vaccine programme is just a drop in the bucket.”
He believes the vaccine should be made available through co-ops, as is done with lumpy skin disease, infectious abortion and bovine tuberculosis.
“If could Brazil manage to become FMD-free through extensive, regular, proactive vaccination, then we can do the same.”
