The Democratic Alliance (DA) has welcomed the Eastern Cape Provincial Government’s announcement of R55 million in emergency funding to procure vaccines in response to the foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) outbreak.
But Eastern Cape farmers have warned that the funding may be insufficient to meet their immediate needs.
DA spokesperson for agriculture, Heinrich Müller, said the funding, announced by Finance MEC Mlungisi Mvoko on Friday following the classification of FMD as a National Disaster, represented a “necessary and urgent step” to contain the spread of the disease, protect the province’s livestock sector, and safeguard food security and agricultural livelihoods.
“We also commend John Steenhuisen, minister of agriculture, for his role in getting FMD classified as a National Disaster. This will assist in enabling the release of emergency funding and strengthening the government’s ability to respond decisively to the crisis,” Müller said.
“The impact of the outbreak is already devastating farming communities. Emerging farmers across the province are suffering significant livestock losses, facing quarantine restrictions that prevent them from trading, and being forced to carry rising feed and operational costs while their income collapses.”
Müller said he had written to Eastern Cape MEC of Agriculture, Nonceba Kontsiwe, asking her to ensure rapid and equitable distribution of vaccines once available, and to strengthen disease monitoring and biosecurity measures.
He said the emergency allocation would help ensure the province could secure critical vaccine supplies and strengthen the response to the outbreak. He added that Kontsiwe must provide meaningful support for affected farmers, particularly emerging and small-scale producers.
“Swift and coordinated action across all spheres of government remains essential to contain the spread of the disease and protect the agricultural value chain.”
However, Müller said this must be accompanied by clear implementation plans, strict oversight and transparent reporting on vaccine procurement and distribution.
“Delays, mismanagement, or failures in coordination will continue to place farmers and the broader agricultural value chain at risk.”
But according to Agrisa Eastern Cape president Pieter Cloete, the financial boost may not be sufficient.
“We’re obviously thrilled that some emergency funding has been made available, though inevitably it’s never enough. We’re grateful and we hope it will be spent wisely and that we don’t have the same debacle that we had with Covid, where most of it ends up in certain individuals’ pockets,” Cloete told the Daily Dispatch.
This comes after Steenhuisen received the first shipment of imported FMD vaccines at OR Tambo International Airport on Saturday. The vaccines are sourced from Biogénesis Bagó in Argentina and will be used during the first phase of the national vaccination programme.
