Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen has received the first consignment of one million high-potency Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) vaccines, at the OR Tambo International Airport.
This shipment from Biogénesis Bagó in Argentina, will be followed by further consignments scheduled to arrive over the coming weeks, including vaccine sourced from BVI in Botswana and Dollvet in Turkey.
The department said a total of over five million vaccines will have entered the country from the three international suppliers by the end of next month.
Locally, the Agriculture Research Council (ARC) has committed to produce 20 000 vaccines per week and scaling up to 200 000 per week in 2027.
“Vaccination has already begun in affected areas, but supply has limited the speed and coverage.
With this arrival, we can now accelerate protection across priority provinces and stabilise the livestock sector,” said Steenhuisen.
The department has confirmed that outbreaks have now been reported across all provinces, with quarantine measures, movement restrictions and surveillance continuing nationwide.
“A risk-based vaccination approach will prioritise outbreak epicentres in KwaZulu-Natal, parts of Gauteng, Free State and North West, while high-risk and border regions will follow structured vaccination programmes.
This strategy combines vaccination with strengthened diagnostics, traceability and movement controls to progressively restore internationally recognised disease-free status,” read a statement from the department.
Furthermore, the department said the doses of vaccine will be distributed as follow: KwaZulu-Natal 200 000 doses; Mpumalanga 100 000 doses; North West 100 000 doses; Free State 200 000 doses; Eastern Cape 150 000 doses; Limpopo 100 000 doses; Gauteng 70 000 doses; Northern Cape 50 000 doses; and Western Cape 30 000 doses.
Despite this, Steenhuisen cautioned that vaccines alone will not defeat the disease.
“Quarantine rules, movement permits and biosecurity measures exist to protect every farmer in the country.
Those who deliberately move animals illegally, conceal infections, or ignore restrictions threaten the recovery of the entire sector.
Where there is wilful non-compliance, we will work with law-enforcement authorities and the full might of the law will be applied,” explained the minister.
Meanwhile, Steenhuisen said he’ll conduct an oversight visit to Mooi River in KwaZulu-Natal next week, as the region’s diary sector has been hit hard by FMD.
“The dairy industry has been among the hardest hit with significant production losses, disrupted markets and immense strain on farming families.
That visit marks the practical beginning of recovery at farm level.
Each vaccinated herd means stability returning to a business, wages returning to workers and milk returning to shelves,” remarked Steenhuisen.
