‘If the legislation is a problem, we’ll change it.’ – Ramaphosa on FMD

Ahead of the announcement that the entire South African herd will be vaccinated against foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), President Cyril Ramaphosa reportedly reached out to Nick Serfontein, chairperson of the Sernick Group and leading farmer from Edenville in the Free State.

Nick Serfontein told African Farming he received a call from President Ramaphosa on Wednesday, 26 November. He told the president about the practical challenges beef farmers are facing because of the state’s inability to get the disease under control.

One of the issues Serfontein highlighted is that current legislation does not distinguish between slaughter cattle (which are operational assets) and stud cattle (which are capital assets). In practice, this means that if a stud farmer’s animals contract FMD, he may not hold auctions for 12 months – and therefore earns no income. The result is that the South African stud industry’s genetic assets are at risk of being lost.

“The president said to me, ‘If the legislation is a problem, we’ll change it.’”

Whether, and how quickly, quarantine regulations will be changed was not announced when John Steenhuisen, Minister of Agriculture, officially outlined the government’s new approach to combating FMD. He was the guest speaker at the leadership summit of the African Farmers’ Association of South Africa (AFASA) in Pretoria.

Also read: Nick Serfontein’s open letter to Minister Steenhuisen: ‘Here we go again’

Minister Steenhuisen noted that while important progress has been made, the current trajectory was not acceptable. “We must be honest with the public and with our farming sector. This is a battle we are currently not winning. For this reason, we are now significantly strengthening our approach to regain control of the situation.”

He announced that the Department of Agriculture had resolved to implement a comprehensive strategy to vaccinate the entire national herd, which will position South Africa to apply to the World Organisation of Animal Health (WOAH) for recognition of freedom with vaccination status.

Minister of Agriculture John Steenhuisen (centre) speaks at a media briefing on the new strategy to combat foot-and-mouth disease. With him are Mooketsa Ramasodi (left), director-general of the Department of Agriculture, and A.J. Mthembu, president of the African Farmers’ Association of South Africa. Photo: Brand Republic

Key Points of the New Strategy

The aim is to systematically vaccinate the country’s entire cattle herd.
The rollout will start in the hardest-hit provinces: KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng, the Free State, Mpumalanga and North West.
Farmers must provide their livestock numbers, as well as their number of quarantined farms.
Vaccine stock levels will be increased.
More vaccines will be imported.
Vaccines will also be produced locally.
Traceability is extremely important.
It is essential to know which animals were vaccinated, and on which date.
Vaccinated animals will receive a tag.
Laboratory capacity will be expanded to analyse samples quickly and deliver results faster.

Also read: BREAKING NEWS | Minister Steenhuisen announces major FMD policy shift at AFASA conference

Millions of Vaccine Doses

The plan requires a sustained supply of high-quality vaccine. Steenhuisen said the government was working closely with Onderstepoort Biological Products (OBP) and the Agricultural Research Council to establish public–private partnerships with local industry and international partners, including China and Argentina, which have already offered technical cooperation and support with vaccine supply.

By February next year, the department aims to take delivery of 2 million doses of FMD vaccines in two separate consignments.

To reduce dependence on imported vaccines, a new mid-scale vaccine production facility will be established as part of the national programme to strengthen biosecurity, Steenhuisen said. The goal is for an additional 1.5 million doses to be made available jointly by the government and the industry.

Steenhuisen also emphasised that the success of the FMD response depended not only on vaccines but also on law enforcement. “Uncontrolled movement of animals remains the single biggest threat to the national containment efforts.”

WATCH: FMD | MPO buys 50 000 vaccines for dairy farmers

Commitment to Recovery and Rebuilding

Steenhuisen said the department will continue to support farmers and farming communities during this difficult time.

“We recognise the emotional, financial and operational strain this disease has placed on the sector. We remain committed to doing everything possible to turn this outbreak around and rebuild resilience in the livestock industry. We are also committed to improving our laboratory capacity to ensure that samples collected are analysed quickly and results are communicated timeously.”

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