Red meat sector finds itself in crisis over foot-and-mouth outbreak
SOUTH Africa’s red meat industry was now at a crisis stage, as the burden of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) was threatening livelihoods and the sector’s viability, the Red Meat and Livestock Primary Cluster said yesterday.
Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) Minister Thoko Didiza announced that the country was battling 56 outbreak cases of FMD involving farms and communal areas in the Free State, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, the North West and Gauteng.
Louw van Reenen, the cluster’s spokesperson and chief executive of the Beefmaster Group, said yesterday that Africa had been plagued by outbreaks since 2019, with disastrous consequences.
“In March 2022, the latest FMD outbreak resulted in China suspending imports from South Africa of all clovenhoofed animal goods, including wool, beef and other red meat products,” Van Reenen said.
He said these exports contributed billions to the economy.
According to DALRRD’s profile of the South African Beef Market Value Chain 2020, South Africa exported 24 485 tons of beef in 2019 yielding an export value of R1.6 billion.
There was a decrease of 18 percent in the quantity of beef exported during the period 2019 from the previous year and export value decreased by 11 percent during the same period.
Commercial farmers are estimated to number 22 000 and employ 138 000 people, while emerging farmers and communal farmers are at 3 million and employ 9 million people. There are roughly 100 commercial feedlots with 5 000 employees in South Africa and 332 abattoirs.
The beef industry is a major contributor
to the livelihood of 2 125 000 people who are dependent on the livestock industry. The beef industry was described as the second fastestgrowing commodity in the agricultural sector following the broiler sector.
The gross value of beef production is dependent on the number of cattle slaughtered and the prices received by producers from buyers. The gross value of beef production increased from R15 billion in 2009/10 to R37bn in 2017/18. This was an increase of 173 percent during the period.
In 2018/19, beef gross value experienced a slight decline of 7 percent. The increase in the past decade was due to the increased consumption of beef during the past years. The average gross value of beef produced during this period amounted to R25.6bn a year.
Louw said companies in the sector had been calling for urgent intervention with wider industry participation
to implement bi-security measures, which would go a long way in preventing FMD outbreaks.
This week, the Red Meat and Livestock Primary Cluster held a high priority event for industry stakeholders to discuss urgent intervention in the management of such disease outbreaks.
The South African Feedlot Association, Commercial Red Meat Producers’ Organisation, Emergent Red Meat Producers’ Organisation and the Livestock Industry AAMP were among those that attended the meeting.
Director of Animal Health at the Department of Agriculture and Land Reform, Dr Mpho Maja, was also in attendance.
“The event was a platform for the entire primary cluster – from the red meat industry services sector to those in animal health forums – to discuss constructive solutions as a collective, and many of the solutions will be included in an implementation plan or a roadmap to better manage outbreaks,” Van Reenen said.
“We are in a better position now that we have commitment from key industry members as well as national government to work together in solving this crisis.”
He said one of the key successes of the meeting was an agreement that would see the industry assist the government with vaccination of animals in “red zones”, which were areas susceptible to livestock being infected by FMD.
Van Reenen said they were now permitted to get private sector vets to assist with vaccination efforts, which they were not allowed to do previously.
“This measure will greatly alleviate the bottlenecks that are barriers in prioritising herd health within these zones.”
The World Organization for Animal Health (formerly Office International des Epizooties, OIE,) which collects information on animal diseases around the world and maintains the World Animal Health Information System, also committed at the meeting to give inputs into the roadmap as well as to help the industry get back its FMD-free status with the OIE.
Van Reenen said another positive take-out was that farmers, auctioneers, agents, and all other industry participants agreed that FMD affected all stakeholders.
“We need to take responsibility and accountability as an industry collective to prioritise the health of the herd.
“While it is easy to point fingers at government to do more, the crisis can be overcome if all role-players – farmers, auctioneers, feedlots and everyone in the beef supply chain – work together to drive the implementation of better traceability structures,” he said.