The Democratic Alliance (DA) has written to the Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development, Thoko Didiza, to request a full investigation into the constant outbreak of Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) in Limpopo. We have also sought an urgent update on the Agricultural Research Council’s (ARC) progress in building a FMD facility which is supposed to produce much-needed vaccines to combat this highly contagious disease.
Last week, Limpopo saw yet another case of FMD being reported in the Molelmole district – outside the FMD zone. This was the third reported case since the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) declared the end of the disease in May 2019.
The ARC should take full responsibility for the continuous outbreak of FMD in South Africa. In 2010, the Council received R188 million to build a FMD facility and almost ten years later the facility has not been completed. The Auditor-General found that ARC failed to spend the money on completing the project, which is in contravention of the Public Finance Management Act.
It is paramount that the ARC completes the FMD facility given the sporadic outbreak of this disease over the past six months, particularly in Limpopo.
FMD poses a serious risk to the country’s agricultural sector as well as our fragile economy. The outbreak of the disease in January 2019 resulted in a brief ban on South African wool and meat exports to various international markets which cost the economy in excess of R10 billion.
The DA has continuously put pressure on the Department and ARC to complete the building of this facility in order to prevent sustained export bans and ultimately a jobs bloodbath for the sector. The farming sector has already been dealt a massive blow with the ongoing drought, and it certainly cannot afford another blow in the form of a disease outbreak.
We therefore call on the Minister to do the right thing and conduct a full investigation regarding the constant break out of the FMD in Limpopo. This investigation must also include action plans to ensure that South Africa’s biosecurity is up to date in order to prevent a further outbreak of disease among livestock. The DA further calls on the Minister to report on the vaccination program against FMD and to put pressure on the ARC to complete this very crucial facility to combat the disease permanently.