As foot-and-mouth disease devastates South Africa’s livestock sector, one million vaccines are set to arrive, offering a glimmer of hope for struggling farmers.
As South African farmers battle one of the worst foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) outbreaks in years, the financial and emotional strain is deepening across the livestock sector.
“It’s having this huge ripple effect right up and down the value chain,” said Theo Boshoff, the Chief Executive Officer of the Agricultural Business Chamber of SA (Agbiz), describing the widening impact of the outbreak.
Livestock farmers, dairy farmers, small stock farmers (sheep and goats), feedlots, auction houses, abattoirs and agribusiness suppliers are all feeling the strain.
For many farmers, FMD means “your source of income stops very abruptly. You still have expenditure because you still need to feed the animals, but you can’t make any money off of it,” said Boshoff.
On top of that, farmers are having to watch their animals suffer and die.
“You can imagine the huge toll that takes on those who are affected,” said Boshoff, who is a member of the FMD Industry Coordination Council. In its latest update, the council acknowledged that “the situation on the ground continues to escalate”.
The CEO of Red Meat Industry Services, Dewald Olivier, said slaughter numbers dropped by 5% between August and November, while beef exports fell by 26% from June.
By Daily Maverick.