As foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) continues to spread rapidly across South Africa — with KwaZulu-Natal the hardest-hit province — farmers, agricultural bodies and KZN government stakeholders are meeting today for emergency discussions on how to contain the spread of the dreaded disease. “We have a two-year plan to get on top of this disease. It has come up in collaboration with Milk Producers’ Organisation, The Red Meat Producers’ Organisation, pig producers, the amakhosi and the African Farmers’ Association of South Africa (Afasa),” James Kean, who chairs the KZN foot-and-mouth disease management team committee, told The Witness.
He said various organisations are also teaming up for logistics and management. “Co-operation with our provincial bodies is really appreciated. We can only beat this disease through vaccinations,” he stressed, adding that all resources must be directed at vaccinating as many animals as possible across commercial farms and rural community animals, which include 1,35 million cattle and 1,7 million goats, the latter being carriers without symptoms.
District development agency Umeda has thrown its focus on bringing provincial government and the agri-sector into the KZN-wide collaborations. Hot spot areas have been identified scientifically as priorities on both commercial farms and in communal areas. The 600 000 dairy cattle and a million commercial beef cattle can be vaccinated in days; however, it is the 2300 dip tanks in rural communities that require extensive resources.
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Farmers said FMD is affecting farms differently, with lameness and mastitis dominant. Tiger heart disease has also claimed the lives of hundreds of calves in certain areas. Animals have had to be culled to relieve suffering, and thousands of litres of milk affected by mastitis have been discarded.
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