‘Too Many Feet Dragged’: Farmers Demand Action as FMD Crisis Deepens, Vaccine Rollout Stalls

Minister of Agriculture John Steenhuisen met with the acting police minister and AgriSA to discuss rural safety and cross-border stock theftbut farmers say the real crisis is foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), and the vaccine rollout is not moving fast enough.

The Vaccine Promise

Steenhuisen welcomed the swift intervention by Sahpra to expedite the importation of six million Dollvet vaccine doses.

A Section 21 permit was issued on Friday for two million doses. Sahpra has confirmed that two additional permits for the remaining four million doses will also be issued.

Five million doses of the Biogénesis Bago vaccines are also on order. One million doses of this vaccine and 1.5 million doses of Dollvet arrived last month.

The Farmer Frustration

Bennie van Zyl, chair of TLU SA, said farmers were eagerly awaiting the next doses.

“The ball is in the hands of the state, the department and Sahpra while we wait for the import permits. We all expected it to happen faster; there are too many feet being dragged into the situation, and it is a dilemma.”

Francois Rossouw, CEO of the Southern African Agricultural Initiative, said complaints were streaming in because vaccines weren’t arriving and being rolled out as promised.

“The Agricultural Research Council said it would be delivering a batch every week, but they have only delivered once, when it was launched and suddenly said they didn’t have the equipment to deliver the rest.”

The Demand for Action

Harry Hepton, director of the Red Meat Action Group, said the latest FMD update confirmed what every farmer already knows: the disease is not under control, and the pressure on producers is increasing daily.

“Collaboration, better communication, and faster implementation are not solutions. These are words that have been repeated for months while vaccines do not reach farmers on time, movement control is inconsistently applied, and producers alone bear the financial burden.”

“If the RPO and other role-players have access to decision-making, then a serious question arises: Why does nothing change? “

Hepton added: “Farmers do not need another report on their situation; they need action.”

Western Cape Progress

Over the weekend, Western Cape Premier Alan Winde announced the province’s coordinated FMD response plan has been bolstered with the arrival of 8,000 more vaccine doses.

This brings the total number received to 170,400. Over 121,000 doses have been administered at 438 vaccination sites, with the support of 29 private vets.

Provincial agriculture minister Ivan Meyer said the province will intensify FMD checkpoint operations to ensure full compliance with veterinary movement protocols going into the busy Easter period.

The Bottom Line

Vaccines are arrivingbut not fast enough. Farmers are frustrated. The state says it’s moving. Producers say it’s stalling.

The FMD crisis is deepening. And the window for action is closing.