by MTHULISI SIBANDA
JOHANNESBURG, (CAJ News) – GOVERNMENT and industry’s efforts to control animal disease spread in South Africa must be lauded.
This is according to an economist as government and industry’s efforts to control animal disease spread prevail.
Wandile Sihlobo, Chief Economist of the Agricultural Business Chamber of South Africa (Agbiz), noted the past three years had been challenging for South Africa’s livestock and poultry industry because of the spread of animal diseases.
Throughout this period, there have been various cases of foot-and-mouth (FMD) disease in cattle, African swine fever in pigs and avian influenza in poultry.
“While animal disease outbreaks are not unique to South Africa and indeed common across the world, South Africa’s challenges have intensified in the recent past,” Sihlobo said.
In 2022, six of South Africa’s nine provinces reported foot-and-mouth disease outbreaks.
This was the first time in the country’s history that the disease had spread this wide.
“The challenging place the country found itself in prompted the government and industry stakeholders to increase their focus on strengthening farm biosecurity controls and surveillance,” Sihlobo added.
– CAJ News