The Red Meat Producers’ Organisation (RPO) will meet with government this week to discuss funding and other interventions needed to contain last week’s outbreak of foot and mouth disease (FMD) in the Vhembe district in Limpopo. “This is not only a very serious concern for meat producers but for related products such as wool and mohair. As a non-tariff barrier concern, this can have a knock-on effect on a number of agricultural exports,” said Gerhard Schutte, CEO of the RPO. He told FTW the meat producers were “highly frustrated” with government as there wasn’t enough capacity to effectively deal with an FMD outbreak. “We warned them last year that FMD was a potentially huge risk for the agricultural community, especially since the industry lost in excess of R6 billion during an FMD outbreak in 2016.” Schutte said the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (Daff) was “trying its best” but that funding for the necessary processes was currently not adequately covered. “We alerted National Treasury to this as we feel it is our right as an industry to receive the necessary assistance from government to grow the economy,” Schutte pointed out. AgriSA head of natural resources, Janse Rabie, agreed that the implications of the FMB were “very severe”, adding that while funding was “certainly one of the concerns” the measures put in place to contain and address the problem were of paramount importance. “In this incident only one animal tested positive for FMD, yet Daff suspended South Africa’s FMD-free status which means any exports where FMD-free zone attestation is required, cannot be certified at present,” he explained. According to Rabie, this could have a “devastating” effect on exports, highlighting that the last time South Africa’s FMDfree status was suspended it took three years to lift. “With an industry already hamstrung by other challenges, it doesn’t bode well for growth as we enter a new year,” he commented. Rabie said he hoped cool heads would prevail in addressing the issue noting that AgriSA would be keeping a close watch on developments. Schutte was equally concerned about global exports, noting that the major markets – China and the United Kingdom – would likely be “quite strict” around the sanitary and phytosanitary issues relating to FMD. “On the other hand, the neighbouring country markets were likely to be a bit more sanguine about importing meat,” he said. Daff said a team of experts from the department and the Limpopo Veterinary Services was conducting further investigations to verify the results and determine the extent of the outbreak. “The control measures will be determined by the findings of this investigation,” said Daff spokesperson, Khaye Nkwanyana. FMD is a severe, highly contagious viral disease which affects livestock such as cattle, pigs (domestic and wild), sheep, goats and other cloven-hoofed animals. The disease does not affect human beings. Nkwanyana said the affected area was under quarantine and no movement of animals and animal products was allowed.
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The industry lost in excess of R6 billion during an FMD outbreak in 2016. – Gerhard Schutte
