Dairy farmers are hit hard by foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in the Eastern Cape and the collapse of milk buyer Desmanda. But behind the scenes, there is a determined effort to minimise the consequences of the crises.

Fanie Ferreira, CEO of the Milk Producers’ Organisation (MPO), told delegates at its annual meeting near Nottingham Road in KwaZulu-Natal that the arrival of John Steenhuisen as Minister of Agriculture has changed the landscape.

Before the minister’s arrival, attempts to engage with the Department of Agriculture about FMD had been futile, he said. “Only two days after minister Steenhuisen was appointed, we were able to get a meeting with him to discuss the crisis. From there on, it went much better.

“We see there is a new political will on the horizon. We also see that minister Steenhuisen’s door is open for us to discuss important agricultural matters with him.”

MPO chairperson Luke Gibbs said Ferreira and the MPO manager in the Eastern Cape, Anri Wolmarans, had made “persistent interventions” and “tremendous efforts” to help halt the spread of FMD.

“This disaster indeed caused massive damage to, and had the potential to entirely ruin, South Africa’s primary dairy industry,” Gibbs said. “After initially having to force their way into the corridors of power, Fanie, Anri and the rest of the team were able to ensure that a programme of vaccination and other protocols were put in place.”

The Department of Agriculture subsequently confirmed Gibbs’s statement that no new outbreaks of FMD were recorded in the Eastern Cape in the five weeks after Steenhuisen’s declaration of a disease management area in the Kouga and Kou-Kamma local municipalities.

However, the department said on Friday that it is concerned about the recurrence of clinical signs of FMD on some farms in the disease management area that were previously infected by and/or vaccinated against the virus.

“This suggests ongoing virus circulation on these farms, and the risk of outward spread remains high. The importance of biosecurity cannot be overemphasised,” said a departmental statement.

Also speaking at the annual meeting, the chairperson of the KwaZulu-Natal MPO, Sandra Berning, said the organisation had donated money and time to support the Eastern Cape dairy farmers affected by FMD.

“The Desmanda saga has also impacted our dairy farmers hugely. Twenty-two KZN dairy farmers were affected. The MPO is committed to establishing a risk fund soon to help farmers in times of need.”

Many dairy farmers are owed millions of rand after Desmanda’s collapse, and alongside many other challenges the primary dairy sector faces, Gibbs told delegates: “We cannot continue down a path that results in an ever-decreasing number of milk producers because they are being squeezed out simply due to the current ‘price taker’ approach to our industry.

“This induces significant barriers to entry into dairy farming and is not conducive to developing a more inclusive primary sector. We as farmers remain committed to establishing a better balance in the relationship between supply and demand.”