Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen has appointed a Foot-and-Mouth Disease Industry Coordination Council to counter the problem, which has brought part of the cattle and dairy industry to its knees.
The council has been established to ensure the livestock industry plays a coordinated role in the phased rollout of South Africa’s national strategy to control and eradicate Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD).
Earlier today, the ministry announced that the council's responsibilities include supporting vaccine distribution, enhancing traceability, and ensuring disease control readiness across the sector.
“I am fully committed to doing whatever it takes to beat FMD. This council will engage directly with me, and its input will be taken seriously. Government cannot do this alone; we need the full strength of the private sector, farmers, and veterinarians collaborating with us,” Minister Steenhuisen said. “We now have a roadmap, and I am accountable for its delivery. If we stay focused and work together, I believe we can restore FMD-free status in less than ten years.”
The council forms part of a three-pronged partnership aimed at implementing the FMD response:
Department of Agriculture: Responsible for policy, regulatory support, and resourcing.
Technical and Scientific Task Team: Provides scientific, veterinary, and epidemiological expertise.
FMD Industry Coordination Council: Offers operational insight, strategic guidance, and unified industry input.
Minister Steenhuisen issued a directive assigning the council to align industry actions with national FMD control measures. The council’s role includes establishing mechanisms to mobilise sector initiatives, consolidating situational information, coordinating communication, supporting readiness for traceability and audit-ready record-keeping, and facilitating non-statutory logistics such as training and awareness campaigns.
The ministry said that council members will engage regularly with both the department and the Technical and Scientific Task Team to ensure alignment between policy, implementation, and veterinary oversight. Members include Johann Kotzé, Bennie van Zyl, Theo Boshoff, Frikkie Maré, Fanie Ferreira, Marlene Louw, Bongani Msimang, Kobus Bester, and Dewald Olivier.
The council was scheduled to hold its first formal meeting today, focusing on aligning priorities and consolidating industry input.
Weekly engagements will now be held to maintain momentum, strengthen monitoring, and present unified recommendations to the government and the Technical and Scientific Task Team, the ministry said.
An urgent meeting with the Task Team has already been requested to review operational capacity and refine the national plan ahead of full implementation.
With coordinated structures, consistent communication, and disciplined collaboration between government and industry, South Africa aims to restore its FMD-free status and strengthen the resilience of its livestock sector.