The Select Committee on Agriculture, Land Reform and Mineral Resources participated in a workshop on foot and mouth disease (FMD) with all nine provincial legislatures over the weekend.

In his opening remarks, the Chairman of the Select Committee on Agriculture, Land Reform and Mineral Resources, Mr Mpho Modise, expressed his reservations about the vaccines being distributed to dairy farmers. “I have been told that they are starting a vaccination campaign. The national department has indicated that they are expecting about one million vaccines. Will it be enough to give one million vaccines to farmers in milk production, when we also have farmers in beef production? What about them? Can we then lobby the department to say, 'As we give one million to dairy farmers, we should also consider beef farmers?'” Mr Modise said.

The Department of Agriculture recently briefed Parliament on vaccination of cattle against FMD; Vaccinations are in response to outbreaks across the country. KwaZulu-Natal is the leading province in FMD cases, with the department reporting outbreaks in all provinces. The Free State is recording growth, making it the second leading province after KZN.

One million vaccine doses will be distributed across nine provinces in outbreak areas, while plans are underway to vaccinate the country's entire herd of more than 14 million cattle.

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KwaZulu-Natal and the Free State have each been allocated 200,000 doses, while North West, Mpumalanga and Limpopo will receive 100,000 doses each. The Eastern Cape has received 150,000 doses.

Mr Jaco Mulder, Chairman of the Portfolio Committee on Environment, Agriculture and Rural Development in Gauteng, said, “We are not gathered here just to attend a workshop. We are gathered here in response to a national threat. We are gathered here because behind every livestock truck stopped, every auction postponed and every farm placed under quarantine, there is a family whose livelihood hangs in the balance.

“Foot-and-mouth disease is not just an animal health issue; it is an economic threat. It is a food security threat. It threatens livelihoods. It jeopardizes farmers, farm workers, rural communities, municipalities and the entire agriculture and red meat value chain that sustains our country.

“For perhaps the first time, the oversight leadership of all provincial legislatures along with the national parliament, the executive, national, provincial and local government and key stakeholders from the farming, cattle and red meat industries have come together on one platform, united by one purpose: to confront this crisis with urgency, unity and accountability,” Mr Mulder said.

Mr Modise said the financial losses resulting from international export restrictions, as well as livestock losses, had been significant. “While we welcome the roll-out of the vaccines, it should be noted that many stakeholders in the industry are frustrated by the slow pace of the government's response to the FMD crisis. This revolves around chronic vaccine shortages, a slow government response to FMD outbreaks and the (national) department's insistence on remaining the sole regulator and supplier of FMD vaccines while struggling to demonstrate the ability to prevent disease outbreaks.”

Gauteng Agriculture MEC Ms Vuyiswa Ramakgopa said, “Of course, Gauteng, being a logistics hub and a commercial center for agriculture and many other sectors, has certainly been affected. Since the beginning of this outbreak, we have recorded exactly 297,413 cases. She added that during this period, the provincial government has administered 288,315 vaccine doses. “It is a moving target. And, as we move forward with our most recent vaccination roll-out, the numbers will certainly change daily. “We also have incidents where there has been a controlled slaughter of 128,925 animals.”

The Gauteng Agriculture Department said the problem in the province is mainly in the southern part of Gauteng. Dr. Vinton Rabolao said, “The question always arises as to why we have a significant number of outbreaks in those particular areas. The answer to the question is that when you look at those geographic areas, we have a lot of informal settlements, number one, and secondly, a lot of pastoralists.

“We don't necessarily refer to them as farmers, but rather people who keep livestock on the outskirts of the township. It's a communal arrangement. So, we have higher mortality rates in those particular areas, because it's often very difficult to keep a communal herd under quarantine. If it's a farm with a fence and a gate that can be locked, it's quite easy. Once we've set the quarantine, we know those animals are restricted to that particular farm. Will be kept limited.”

In community settings, animals are confined at night and released in the morning. Depending on where the herder wants to graze, they can be moved to the north, south or west. When the outbreak began, the Gauteng government came up with the idea of ​​keeping these animals in pens and feeding them there, Dr Rabolao said. However, there was a challenge because there is no water in those corridors. Inevitably, animals have to leave in the morning in search of water. This situation is not unique to Gauteng, but is common in provinces with communal herds, as the animals belong to more than one owner. In most cases, one does not deal directly with the owner, but with the shepherd.”