20 Nov 2022

Government continues to intensify measures aimed at fighting animal diseases that negatively affect markets for farmers, particularly Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD).

To that effect, recently, Assistant Minister of Agriculture, Mr Molebatsi Molebatsi launched the first ever mobile quarantine at Eretsha village in the Okavango area.

Mr Molebatsi said the mobile quarantine would assist in bringing services closer to the farmers in that area as well as cut costs they incurred in taking their cattle for quarantine to Makalamabedi.

He added that the quarantine aspect was part of the Commodity Based Trade (CBT) which promoted safe trade of beef in FMD prone areas to local and regional markets.

With FMD dating back to as far as 1930s, Mr Molebatsi said government had since put measures in place to fight the disease, among them erection of zones for FMD free and prone areas.

“FMD has since rendered farmers poor because it affected beef markets and as such a united effort between farmers, government and stakeholders remains the right approach to fighting the disease,” he said. He added that the mobile quarantine concept, which was on trial for a year, had potential to contribute to the successful control of FMD. “Cattle would undergo all FMD protocols which include vaccination, ear tags before being taken into the mobile quarantine,” he said.

For his part, Herding 4 Health director, Dr Jacques Van Rooyen, whose organisation was part of the mobile quarantine concept, said the CBT concept was funded by European Union.

“Some barriers such as distance affect the CBT protocols. Therefore, the mobile quarantine would help overcome such barriers, including costs incurred,” Dr Van Rooyen said.

He explained that their organisation engaged some communities as herders in the mobile quarantine at a given time as part of the concept.

He commended Botswana for the mobile quarantine concept which he said could be adopted by other countries.

One farmer, Mr Mpihelang Kangera welcomed the mobile quarantine saying it would assist farmers in Eretsha and other nearby four villages to easily access quarantine services.

Another farmer, Mr Sekongo Ehemba was also happy that the mobile quarantine would assist them to cut costs. Ends