Government ramps up vaccine efforts to combat foot-and-mouth disease outbreak

MINISTER of Agriculture John Steehuisen has announced a significant increase in vaccine supplies in KwaZulu-Natal in a bid to combat the ongoing outbreak of Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD).

- YOGASHEN PILLAY

This announcement comes in the wake of urgent calls from livestock commodity groups united under the KwaZulu-Natal Agricultural Union (Kwanalu) for the province to be declared a disaster area due to the severe implications of FMD on local livelihoods.

During his address at the TMR Conference hosted by the Milk Producers Organisation on Monday, Steehuisen FMD has severely impacted the red meat industry since the outbreaks in 2019.

“It has closed doors to critical markets. It disrupted supply chains. And it sent shockwaves through producer confidence. We have learned some hard lessons.

We cannot achieve prosperity through exports without credible, science-based, and trusted disease control systems,” he said.

Steenhuisen added that the department was working closely with industry through joint command structures to improve surveillance and rapid response.