Staff Reporter<\/p>\n\n\n\n
THE Deputy Executive Director in the Department of Agriculture, Kingsley Kwenani, has emphasised the importance of maintaining Namibia\u2019s foot-and-mouth disease (FMD)-free status, warning that any outbreak of the highly infectious animal disease could jeopardise the country\u2019s access to lucrative beef markets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFor Namibia, whose livestock and meat industry is deeply integrated into premium international markets, safeguarding our FMD-free status is therefore vital,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kwenani made these remarks at the Multi-Sectoral Meeting on Foot-and-Mouth Disease Preparedness and Response, which aimed to bring together stakeholders in the livestock sector to discuss the regional FMD risk and mitigation measures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Video: Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water & Land Reform<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe recurring outbreaks in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region, including South Africa\u2019s loss of FMD-free status, and the recent outbreak in one of Botswana\u2019s FMD-free zones (Zone 6b), have elevated the risk profile. As a result, it appears that our international markets are currently watching closely to see what will happen with Namibia,\u201d Kwenani said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He further highlighted that Namibia has been recognised by the World Organisation for Animal Health as an FMD-free zone south of the veterinary cordon fence since 1997. He urged stakeholders to safeguard this status, noting that it secures access to global markets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis status, shared by only a handful of African countries, provides access to lucrative markets with minimal sanitary restrictions, reinforcing our competitive advantage in the global livestock trade,\u201d Kwenani added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Staff Reporter THE Deputy Executive Director in the Department of Agriculture, Kingsley Kwenani, has emphasised the importance of maintaining Namibia\u2019s foot-and-mouth disease (FMD)-free status, warning that any outbreak of the highly infectious animal disease could jeopardise the country\u2019s access to lucrative beef markets. \u201cFor Namibia, whose livestock and meat industry is deeply integrated into premium …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":389579,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30,24],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-389578","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n