Small-scale farmers in South Africa's Eastern Cape have voiced frustration over inaccessible foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) vaccines, saying they have sought help from the Department of Agriculture without success.
Small-scale farmers in the Eastern Cape expressed anger at the limited availability of FMD vaccines. They claim the Department of Agriculture has ignored their pleas for assistance.
Bantubonke Makeleni, a spokesperson for the small-scale farmers, criticised the prioritisation of commercial farmers. “We are being sidelined as small scale farmers and clearly our contribution have been forgotten,” Makeleni said.
The Eastern Cape Department of Agriculture outlined its vaccination strategy. Spokesperson Atule Joka stated that 300 000 doses have been distributed to the province, with 3 000 cattle vaccinated in Mnquma Municipality so far. The department plans to vaccinate more than 3 million cattle overall, starting with border areas, hotspots, dairy and beef farms to protect jobs and food security, before moving to communal herds.
Nationally, the Agricultural Research Council released 20 000 doses of locally produced FMD vaccine on April 1 to bolster animal health efforts.
