Farmers pay heavy price for vaccine delays

Relief is on its way, but for many farmers it may be too late

South Africa’s first batch of locally produced Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) vaccines in over 20 years is expected to be available in just over a week but for many farmers, it wont make a difference.

As the disease ravages herds across KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape, and Free State, cows are aborting, calves are dying, and milk is being dumped. Veterinary bills are skyrocketing, and losses run into the millions. Farmers say the vaccines will not undo the devastation, which they say was entirely preventable. Both dairy and beef sectors, as well as communal and commercial farms, have been hit.

Angus Williamson, vice-chairperson of Kwanalu, warned that the vaccines are not a silver bullet. Apart from uncertainties over cost, supply and administration, it is not advisable to vaccinate sick animals, he said.

"You need to vaccinate ahead of the curve, at least six weeks, so that the animal can build up immunity. But we are vaccinating after outbreaks. That doesn't stop the spread. It helps only animals not yet infected. You vaccinate today, and tomorrow symptoms start to show. It won’t save the entire herd - you’re still going to haemorrhage," he said.

Williamson said the state veterinary service does not have the capacity to roll out the programme, and the only way it will work is through a public-private partnership. Under international law, farmers are not allowed to self-vaccinate — and they must find the money to pay for it.

"What they should be doing is providing the vaccine free of charge. As a beef or dairy producer, you have to pay R45 per dose. If you are milking 2 000 cows, that’s an extra R90 000 from your budget," he said.

He warned that many farmers were already teetering on the brink, pushed further into crisis by low product prices and rising costs.

"They’re under huge pressure. They’ve cashed in policies, stopped medical aid, and cut back to the bare minimum. Are they going to survive? I don’t know," he said.

Yesterday, Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen visited the Agricultural Research Council’s Onderstepoort Veterinary Research facility, where the first batch of vaccines was handed over. He promised a decade-long, science-led strategy to reclaim South Africa’s FMD-free status.

He announced that the first locally produced Foot-and-Mouth Disease vaccines in over 20 years were manufactured under strict biosafety, biosecurity, and regulatory standards. A pilot batch of 12 900 doses serves as proof of concept for the new virus strains and modern production technology. The vaccines will be distributed across the country. Weekly production will ramp up to 20 000 doses a week from March.

"To our farmers who have watched their livelihoods disappear before their eyes, I hear you, and I feel the weight of this hardship. Help is not just coming — it is here," Steenhuisen said.

KwaZulu-Natal is the epicentre of the outbreak, and the provincial government has vowed to urgently move to classify it as a state of disaster. Premier Thamsanqa Ntuli said yesterday the Provincial Disaster Management Centre had submitted a preliminary assessment to the Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs’ National Disaster Management.

"FMD has escalated far beyond a mere animal health concern. It has become a socio-economic and disaster management issue that demands decisive, coordinated action from all spheres of government," Ntuli said.

KwaZulu-Natal, with a cattle population of approximately 2.4 million, accounts for a significant portion of the national herd, including 21% of the nation’s dairy animals. To date, 207 cases have been confirmed, with 187 unresolved, affecting communal herds, feedlots, commercial beef farms, and dairy operations. Food security is under strain, and livelihoods are collapsing under the weight of the multibillion-rand industry’s disruption.

Through a state of disaster, the province would be able to reprioritise resources, mobilise national funding, secure speedy access to vaccines, and strengthen coordinated interventions. Ntuli said the vaccines are expected to arrive on Tuesday, but due to processes, they would only be available for distribution to provinces by mid-February.

Veterinary experts warn that unless compliance with movement restrictions is strictly enforced, the outbreak will continue to spread. “Illegal livestock movements undermine containment and put the entire sector at risk,” Ntuli said. “Compliance is a collective responsibility.”

The proposed classification disaster rests with the national government, but KwaZulu-Natal’s provincial authorities are already activating a Joint Operations Centre and developing a comprehensive implementation plan.

Addressing the provincial vaccine shortage, Agriculture and Rural Development MEC Thembeni KaMadlopha-Mthethwa acknowledged a gap.

"We were able to vaccinate until the end of October. Between November and December, there was no vaccine, and currently, we have none," she said.

Despite the shortage, she expressed confidence that her department is ready to execute an intensive vaccination drive as soon as supply resumes.

"I can assure you that I have a capable team that will assist farmers, and we are going to make sure that we use the vaccine as per the time allocated," she said.