Durban - The farming community has raised fears about the sustainability of their operations after the government imposed a countrywide ban on the movement of cattle for 21 days due to the outbreak of foot and mouth disease (FMD).
The groups also criticised how the FMD outbreaks had been handled thus far and said more efficient handling of the situation may have avoided a ban having to be imposed.
Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development, Thoko Didiza, announced that the movement of all cattle would be banned on Tuesday.
Farmer’s associations who spoke to The Mercury yesterday said they were concerned about the serious impact the ban would have on the export industry and the economy as a whole.
Didiza said the decision was aimed at halting the continued spread of FMD in the country. The ban means cattle may not be moved from one property to another for any reason for a period of 21 days, which will be reviewable weekly.
“The country is currently experiencing 116 outbreaks of FMD, involving farms, feedlots and communal areas in KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, North West, Gauteng, Mpumalanga and the Free State provinces.”
Sandy la Marque, chief executive of the KwaZulu-Natal Agricultural Union (Kwanalu), said the union was extremely concerned about the announcement to suspend the movement of cattle.
“This entire FMD spread could have been prevented. The economic impact experienced to date by livestock farmers, and particularly those smaller farmers who rely on their cattle sales to pay for school fees, buy food and other livelihood expenses, has been devastating.
“Needless to say, the export industry has also been directly affected. Since May 2021, when the outbreak occurred in Mtubatuba, the handling of the disease has been exceptionally poor.”
La Marque said simple remedies and actions had not been carried out as they should have and those responsible should be held to account.
“Kwanalu and its farmer members have experienced and beaten foot and mouth outbreaks in the past. It requires commitment, resources, budget and discipline to stop this disease.
“The suspending of the movement of cattle should be but one action. Kwanalu and its members demand that all relevant sector departments, SAPS, RTI (Road Traffic Inspectorate) and DALRRD (Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development) in particular, prioritise, budget and resource the activities required to stop the spread of FMD.”
DA MP Noko Masipa said the party welcomed the decision by Didiza to suspend cattle movement in order to curb further spread of FMD but said it could not be a long-term solution.
“Restricting the transport of livestock cannot be a long-term solution, yet DALLRD has failed to produce a plan to combat the continuous FMD outbreaks for smallholder livestock farmers. These farmers’ cattle roam the streets of cities and rural villages, and their animals are not fenced at all. They farm from their backyards and they need help.”
Christo van der Rheede, Agri SA’s executive director, said the severity of FMD probably justified a total ban from the government’s perspective.
“From a farmer’s perspective, this will definitely have an impact on their livelihoods. However, it will put countries such as China at ease, who slapped us with a ban on wool exports, that we’re serious about bringing an end to the spread of FMD. However, the government should have acted much sooner – which would have prevented FMD from spreading to provinces where there was no foot and mouth previously.”
Van der Rheede said there should have been stringent action earlier in specific provinces to prevent the spread.
“Drastic measures are required right at the start of an outbreak to stop it spreading further. If we fail to do so, it will spread like wildfire with serious implications for the livestock industry. Currently, the wool industry is very negatively affected by the ban on wool exports to China.”
University of Zululand political economist Professor Irrshad Kaseeram described the decision as necessary as FMD can disrupt the entire meat industry.
“It is concerning as the FMD spread has to be managed. However, at the same time farmers are not going to be able to take their stocks to the markets and this will undoubtedly cause an increase in the price of red meat.
“However, I have no doubt that this ban will be temporary and the FMD will be controlled after 21 days end.”