Traditional leaders enlisted to help rural farmers fight foot-and-mouth disease

President Cyril Ramaphosa has used the opening of the National House of Traditional and Khoi-San Leaders to assure small-scale and rural farmers that they will not be left behind in the national campaign to eradicate Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD).

Addressing Parliament on Thursday, the President appealed directly to traditional leaders to assist the government in a massive vaccination rollout, likening the scale of the operation to the COVID-19 vaccination drive.

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The President noted that FMD is currently wreaking havoc on farming communities nationwide, with a particularly devastating impact on small-scale producers.

He acknowledged that containing the disease in rural areas remains a significant challenge because cattle are often not confined and move easily across communal lands.

To combat this, government plans to vaccinate the entire national herd of 14 million cattle.

"We want to focus on communal areas and thereafter we will go and focus on the dairy farms, the feedlots, and then the rest of the national herd," Ramaphosa stated.

Ramaphosa confirmed that he will personally receive the next consignment of five million vaccine doses.

However, he emphasised that the success of the distribution depends on local cooperation and the influence of traditional authorities.

"We will want you as traditional leaders to keep an eye on how this process is working, to give advice, to give guidance," he said, urging leaders to play an active role in the campaign’s oversight.

In a statement, Cabinet noted that rebuilding South Africa’s local vaccine production capacity is essential for the agricultural sector.

By strengthening these capabilities, the government aims to reclaim its FMD-free status from the World Organisation for Animal Health, a move that would significantly boost the country's export potential.