Namibia needs an estimated N$1.5 billion to fully combat the potential outbreak of the highly contagious Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD).
This includes creating the necessary buffers within the country’s agricultural production zones, agriculture minister Inge Zaamwani has said.
She also announced on Tuesday that the government has approved and made available N$57 million to assist with further tightening the country’s biosecurity awareness, response capacity, surveillance and veterinary protocols. Namibia’s response measures are multi-pronged and aimed at ensuring that the country preserves its FMD-free status, protects food security, the livestock and meat export industry and sustains revenue generation, employment opportunities and the livelihoods of farmers. “These enhanced prevention and control measures include the re-zoning of the current FMD-free zone into smaller,
compartmentalised FMD-free zones to improve disease containment should an outbreak occur. They also involve the construction of cleaning, disinfection, and incineration facilities at all eight border posts in the no-free zone and the upgrading and rehabilitation of meat processing plants to ensure the continued trade of safe products should an outbreak occur,” said the minister.
She also said the country recently bolstered its vaccine and response capacity following the procurement of additional equipment, vaccines and materials to safeguard against potential FMD outbreaks countrywide.
Procured with the support of the Livestock and Livestock Products Board of Namibia (LLPBN) and the Directorate of Veterinary Services, the additional equipment, vaccines and related materials will form part of the FMD emergency mobile store, which will be deployed to suspected outbreak sites across the country immediately upon request from the directorate.
Although great progress has been made to fully prepare for any FMD threats, Zaamwani stressed that the country will need at least an estimated N$1.5 billion on top of the N$57 million to adequately protect Namibia’s highly lucrative meat industry, which is valued at over N$15 billion.
The envisaged N$1.5 billion, the minister explained, will be geared towards the establishment of a fully-fledged national FMD vaccine storage facility, which will ensure rapid access to vaccines in the event of an outbreak, particularly in the southern //Kharas and Hardap regions.
“We also plan to establish disease control and buffer zones within the FMD-Free Zone on a phased approach basis. The initial focus and priority will be establishing a control zone in the Karas region, while concurrently rehabilitating existing internal stock and game fencing in the Hardap, Omaheke, and Otjozondjupa regions within the next six months,” stated Zaamwani.
Neighbouring South Africa and Botswana are grappling with mounting cases of FMD, with Botswana recently confirming an outbreak of the disease at its northeastern border areas, while South Africa’s FMD outbreaks are beginning to show their full economic weight, with new data indicating rising losses in both the dairy and beef sectors.
What has triggered the alarm is the latest FMD case that was recorded at Nkuruman in the Northern Cape. It is located just some 400 km away from Namibia’s southern border.
The FMD is a severe, highly contagious viral disease of livestock that has a significant economic impact. It mostly affects cattle, swine, sheep, goats and other cloven-hoofed ruminants.
“These efforts will be complemented by intensified national awareness campaigns among farming communities to promote early disease recognition, timely reporting, and the adoption of improved biosecurity measures at farm level. The current annual inspection cycle will be revised to allow more frequent clinical and serological surveillance activities, aligned with the heightened risk,” the former Namdeb MD said.
She continued: “Special attention will be directed towards improving oversight of livestock movements, particularly within buffer zones and high-risk regions, to ensure full compliance with veterinary movement protocols and prevent unauthorised transfers that could accelerate disease spread.”