Individuals or companies that tell farmers they must pay upfront to obtain vaccines, or register on specific systems to qualify for them, are spreading “absolute nonsense”, according to the FMD Industry Coordination Council.

By Alani Janeke, senior journalist at African Farming and Landbouweekblad

The Industry Coordination Council, appointed to strengthen government’s response to foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), indicated in the second week of February that it was aware of such messages and warned farmers to exercise caution. The messages are, however, still being circulated via WhatsApp and other platforms, says Dewald Olivier, CEO of Red Meat Industry Services (RMIS) and chair of the Industry Coordination Council. He describes these claims as “absolute nonsense”.

Two Vaccination Scenarios

Olivier explains that there are two scenarios relating to vaccines. The first applies where animals have tested positive for FMD and will be vaccinated by the state.

“We need to state this clearly: The state veterinarian, or an approved private veterinarian in your area, will receive permission to assist with vaccinations. We are not yet certain how this will be implemented, whether the veterinarian will administer the vaccine or whether the farmer will be authorised to vaccinate their own animals,” he says.

The second scenario applies to producers who want to vaccinate preventively. In this case, vaccines will be available for purchase once South Africa has secured sufficient volumes. Olivier says the relevant application process is currently being finalised.

This applies where a producer, feedlot, dairy or stud breeder wants to vaccinate preventively. In that case, the producer will buy the vaccine through a veterinarian and will then be permitted to vaccinate. This is a completely different system, and there is not yet final clarity on how it will work. Traceability will be essential to ensure the state is kept informed about where vaccines are distributed, among other key details.

He says the current concern is that some market players are going so far as to threaten farmers, claiming that if they are not registered on certain systems, they will not receive vaccines.

“I want to state categorically that this borders on sabotage. It is dishonest and completely unacceptable that producers are being exploited in this way,” Olivier says.

Also read: Farmers called to complete application form for FMD vaccinations

Keeping the Heatmap Up to Date

The low rate of reporting disease cases is causing concern and creating challenges in compiling the national heatmap, which is used to determine where vaccines will be administered first. Olivier says the task team understands why farmers are reluctant to report cases, particularly because of the quarantine measures that are then imposed.

In mid-February, the Industry Coordination Council asked farmers to anonymously report cases in their areas that they’re aware of via WhatsApp on 073 786 7363. They only need to send GPS coordinates of the location or the nearest S-road or main road.

During the third week of February, numerous cases were reported anonymously, with about 80% coming from KwaZulu-Natal. Olivier encourages farmers to continue reporting suspected cases in this way to ensure that the heatmap remains up to date.