Important steps to implement South Africa’s foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) plan will take place in the first two months of 2026. One of these is the implementation of the Livestock Identification and Traceability System (LITS) by the second week of January, says Minister of Agriculture John Steenhuisen.
By Alani Janeke, senior journalist at African Farming and Landbouweekblad
Some provinces have already begun implementing The Livestock Identification and Traceability System (LITS), which was developed by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). Using geographic location indicators, the system will help track the movement of vaccinated animals.
According to a statement Steenhuisen issued today, the ministerial task team is currently developing a Section 10 scheme in terms of the Animal Diseases Act 1984 (Act No. 35 of 1984). This scheme, which will be announced by the end of January, will set parameters within the dairy and feedlot industries for the vaccination programme.
Regulations relating to the emergency importation of vaccines, quarantine measures and the branding of animals will be reviewed in line with this new policy direction, Steenhuisen says. The task team is also developing a new incentivised post-vaccination branding system.
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Funding for Foot-and-Mouth Disease
To ensure more funds are being directed to the fight against foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), all unspent funds from the Comprehensive Agricultural Support Programme (CASP) will be redirected towards biosecurity and FMD control. Going forward, 5% of CASP funding will be prioritised for FMD.
Phased Vaccination Programme
Over the past few months, about 950 000 animals across the country have been vaccinated using vaccine doses procured by government from the Botswana Vaccine Institute (BVI).
The remainder of the vaccination programme will be rolled out in phases. Vaccination will begin in the highest-risk areas and later expand to lower-risk regions. Mass vaccination will start in February 2026 in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng, targeting feedlots, commercial farmers and communal farmers.
Vaccinations will then continue in Limpopo and Mpumalanga, followed by North West and the Eastern Cape. There is an urgent need to protect FMD-free areas by establishing protection zones in the Eastern Cape, Northern Cape and Western Cape.
The BVI has confirmed that it has the capacity to supply 1 million vaccine doses per month from mid-January 2026 onwards. This will help South Africa to complete vaccination in critical areas as outlined above.
In addition, the Agricultural Research Council (ARC) is on track with the development of a mid-scale vaccine-manufacturing facility. While fundraising for the main factory continues, the ARC aims to produce 20 000 multivalent vaccine doses (covering multiple strains of the disease) by the fourth quarter of the 2025/26 financial year.
Also read: Dairy industry urges president to act as foot-and-mouth (FMD) vaccine shortage worsens
Diagnostic Capacity to be Expanded
Diagnostic capacity at the Onderstepoort Veterinary Laboratory will be expanded through the appointment of additional veterinary technologists. The task team is also exploring the use of other laboratories to relieve pressure on the Onderstepoort facility.
Diagnostic kits and vaccines will be imported as needed. Awareness campaigns will be rolled out in partnership with industry bodies and farmers’ associations. The National Biosecurity Hub at the University of Pretoria will coordinate these awareness campaigns together with provincial departments of agriculture.
In all provinces, the department will work with the South African Police Service and other law enforcement agencies to ensure that all systems are in place for the implementation of the vaccination programme. An information session with law enforcement agencies will be held in the third week of January. Unemployed animal health graduates will also be trained and deployed during the implementation of the vaccination programme.
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Top Priority
Steenhuisen emphasised that the management of FMD is a top priority for him and the Department of Agriculture.
He expressed confidence in the national strategy to combat FMD, and stressed that the department and the ministerial advisory task team were working hard to implement a decisive, evidence-based blueprint for the recovery of the livestock sector.
“South Africa now has a realistic and technically sound roadmap to realise its goal of FMD-free status with vaccination, a crucial step in restoring confidence in export markets and stabilising this R80 billion livestock industry,” he says.
“This will take time, however. We need cooperation from the industry to ensure that we can bring the disease under control within a short space of time.”
He says the team is finalising a strategy to reduce FMD incidents by about 70% in high-risk areas over the next 24 months; to achieve 90% vaccination coverage in target animal populations in communal areas, on commercial farms and in feedlot areas; and to ensure 100% vaccination of dairy cattle. Certified compartments and progressive vaccination zones to facilitate safe trade will also be established.
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