YESTERDAY Kouga Municipality’s council unanimously accepted recommendations to consider the current conditions as a local economic state of disaster and to request the relevant provincial and/or national department to declare the same to obtain additional support.
The municipality’s executive mayor, Hattingh Bornman, had tabled a motion of exigency addressing the devastating Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) outbreak in the region.
Urgent measures for a growing crisis
Bornman emphasised the severity of the situation and recommended that council seek guidance to declare the viral outbreak and its economic impact as a local state of disaster.
The outbreak was first reported on 30 April 2024, at The Glen 1 and The Glen 2, just outside of Humansdorp.
The municipality swiftly responded by restricting the movement of all cloven-hoofed animals in the Kouga and Koukamma region, collaborating closely with the Agri Tsitsikamma East Farmers Association (ATO) to implement sanitation points at all entrances to the affected areas.
Worsening conditions
On 16 May, another suspected case was reported on a small beef farm near Palmietvlei, later confirmed positive for FMD, followed by a neighbouring dairy farm. Despite collective efforts to contain the virus, it has spread from the Palmietvlei area towards Oyster Bay and the Tsitsikamma region.
Currently, 48 farms are affected, ranging from small to large herds.
“The economic impact is devastating to our local farming community and has the potential to be detrimental to the local economy should the virus continue to spread,” said Bornman.
Impact on local farmers
The outbreak has led to:
- An estimated milk production loss of up to 40% due to discarded milk through treatments.
- Lower milk quality due to infected udders.
- Veterinary costs, mainly for treating affected cows.
- Additional labour costs due to longer working hours.
- Additional minerals and feed required for affected animals.
The ATO estimates a total loss for the first 45 days of infection to be between R120 to R150 million, with potential losses reaching R600 million by the end of the year.
Vaccination and culling
“The only method of controlling the viral infection is through vaccination,” said Bornman.
ATO, in collaboration with the state veterinary, advises that there are approximately 90,000 producing cows in the affected area. With a moderate culling rate of 15% in a normal year, this amounts to a total of 13,500 cows needing to be culled. At an estimated R9,000 per cow, there is a potential further loss of R122 million if an abattoir for these animals does not become available soon.
Economic impact
“Dairy farms in our area create around 3,000 direct job opportunities and thousands more down the value chain,” Bornman noted.
“I believe that this outbreak has the potential to cause the biggest economic crisis in Kouga since Covid-19, and it is therefore critical that we as a municipality do everything in our power to mitigate this situation and support the local agricultural sector.”
Council’s swift acceptance of these recommendations underscores their commitment to addressing the crisis and mitigating the impact on the local farming community and economy.
Areas under declaration
At national level, the Department of Agriculture said outbreaks of FMD in the Kouga and Koukamma Municipalities remain of great concern, in an update issued on Friday.
It said cattle on 26 farms have tested positive for the disease. Cattle on these positive farms have been vaccinated to decrease the viral load and to control the severity of the clinical signs seen in dairy cattle in particular. Positive farms were placed under quarantine with strict movement control.
The department said requests were received to preventatively vaccinate dairy cattle on farms that have not been confirmed as being FMD positive but were at high risk of infection. Permission was given to preventatively vaccinate cattle on 29 farms. Animals on a further seven farms were vaccinated after veterinary officials reported suspect clinical signs. In total, 84,655 animals were vaccinated on 62 farms.
In a further effort to prevent any spreading of the disease out of the affected area, the Department of Agriculture declared a Disease Management Area (DMA) on 26 July 2024, which will include parts of the Kouga and Koukamma Municipalities. The boundaries of the DMA will be detailed in the related Government Gazette Notice.
The DMA will make it possible to control movements of animals out of, into and within the affected area. The main aim of the DMA is to prevent the outward spread of the outbreaks, to areas not previously affected. In addition, the DMA aims to decrease any further spread of the disease within the affected area, as this will decrease the viral load and infection pressure within the area.
No cloven-hoofed animals, animal products derived from cloven-hoofed animals or genetic material of cloven-hoofed animals may be moved from, to or within the Disease Management Areas of the Eastern Cape Province except under the authority of a state veterinary permit contemplated in Regulation 20 (1) of the Regulations and in compliance with the conditions of such permit.
In addition to the control measures of the Eastern Cape Province DMA, the July 2024 Gazette Notice also stipulates that cloven-hoofed livestock may only be moved if accompanied by a health declaration from the owner of the animals, attesting to their health at the time of moving. All cattle, sheep, and goats newly brought onto a farm must be kept separated from the resident herds for at least 28 days.
