Agriculture Minister Willie Aucamp has described the settlement reached with agricultural organisations over the management of the country's Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) outbreak as a significant breakthrough for South Africa's livestock industry.
The agreement follows lengthy negotiations held in Pretoria on Thursday, 9 July 2026, between the Department of Agriculture and the applicants in the case, including Sakeliga, the South African Agri Initiative (SAAI) and Free State Agriculture, along with other respondents.
Speaking after the settlement announcement, Aucamp said the agreement marked an important step towards restoring stability in the country’s agricultural sector.
“Today’s settlement is not only a win for the parties involved in the case but is a win for all South African farmers as this sector contributes significantly to the country’s job creation efforts and GDP (Gross Domestic Product),” Aucamp said.
A key outcome of the agreement is that owners and managers of cloven-hoofed livestock will be permitted to voluntarily vaccinate their animals against Foot and Mouth Disease, in line with the certain biosecurity, legal prescripts and conditions, including traceability and reporting.
Aucamp said the settlement reflects government’s willingness to work in partnership with the private sector to contain the outbreak.
"Government cannot do this alone. We will continue to hold hands with all industry and private sector role players in the control of the FMD outbreak. We now need to enable the private sector to import at scale and it is for this reason that the department and Onderstepoort Biological Products (OBP) have expressly relinquished sole rights to the import and/or distribution of FMD vaccines,” the Minister said.
The applicant organisations also welcomed the settlement and committed to continuing their collaboration with the department in tackling the FMD outbreak.
Aucamp thanked all parties for adopting what he described as a constructive and solutions-driven approach during the negotiations.
He stressed that the focus will now shift to efficient rollout of the measures agreed upon. – SAnews.gov.za
