Staff Reporter
NAMIBIA is among the Southern African countries working with South Africa to strengthen preparedness against foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), with South Africa having provided 50,000 vaccine doses to Namibia, Eswatini and Lesotho amid the region’s ongoing disease risk.
South African Agriculture Minister Willem Abraham Stephanus Aucamp said South Africa was dealing with what he described as the country’s largest-ever FMD outbreak, but that the situation was increasingly being brought under control through an accelerated vaccination programme and closer cooperation with neighbouring countries.
Speaking at the Agri Limpopo Congress in Modimolle, Aucamp said South Africa had decided to vaccinate its entire cattle herd and had significantly increased the importation and distribution of FMD vaccines.
“We have from South Africa’s side already provided 50,000 doses or vaccines to Namibia, Eswatini as well as Lesotho so that they can be prepared should there be outbreaks, they can immediately counter them,” he said.
Aucamp said South Africa had imported 13.5 million vaccine doses over the past year and a half, while a further 10 to 12 million doses were expected to be brought into the country during the two-month period ending in August.
He said the increased availability of vaccines, faster distribution and allowing farmers to vaccinate their own cattle had helped accelerate the response.
“We have increased the rate in which vaccines are imported, we’ve increased the rate in which it’s distributed and by farmers vaccinating themselves, we’ve increased that as well,” Aucamp said.
He said SADC countries faced similar challenges because of the presence of wildlife, particularly buffalo, which can carry FMD.
“We are going to face the same problem. We are facing the same problem and we need to collaborate on that,” he said.
The regional disease threat remains a concern for Namibia’s livestock sector, with restrictions on livestock trucks returning from South Africa currently preventing them from carrying backloads into Namibia.
The Livestock Producers Organisation (LPO) said the restrictions had placed considerable financial pressure on transporters, producers and the wider livestock value chain.
Efforts are under way to establish a system under which livestock trucks can be cleaned and disinfected at approved facilities in South Africa before returning to Namibia, with documentation verifying that the required biosecurity procedures have been followed.
The Livestock and Livestock Products Board of Namibia (LLPBN) has contracted South African compliance company AfriCompliance to evaluate suitable disinfection facilities along key livestock transport routes.
According to the LPO, several priority facilities have been identified following consultations with transporters, exporters and other industry stakeholders.
The evaluation process is nearing completion, after which the facilities will undergo formal accreditation. The process is expected to take a further two to three weeks, depending on the individual facilities and any outstanding requirements.
The proposed system requires facilities to use appropriate disinfectants and follow procedures aligned with World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) standards.
The LPO said consultations with Namibia’s Directorate of Veterinary Services (DVS) had been positive, with the veterinary authority recognising the financial pressure facing the livestock industry while maintaining the need for strict FMD controls.
The objective is to establish a trusted and verifiable disinfection system that could provide sufficient veterinary assurance for DVS to reconsider the restrictions on livestock backloads.
The LPO stressed that the proposed solution was not intended to compromise Namibia’s FMD controls, but to establish a scientifically sound and risk-based system that protects the country’s animal health status while reducing the logistical and financial burden on the livestock industry.
Meanwhile, Aucamp said South Africa was also preparing for challenging weather conditions, with the El Niño phenomenon projected later this year and early next year.
He said government would work with farmers to mitigate the effects of hot and dry conditions, including through investment in agricultural technology and innovation.
Aucamp highlighted the development of more drought-resistant seeds as one example of technology that could help farmers maintain production under difficult conditions.
“From government’s side, we must assist them, we must help them to overcome these problems,” he said.
Aucamp said regional cooperation would remain important as countries worked to protect livestock, maintain market access and manage the ongoing FMD threat.
Sources: Red Meat Industry Services (RMIS)/SABC News/NAU
Photo: Red Meat Industry Services (RMIS)
