21 Nov 2013

Parliament has been informed that the Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) situation in Ngamiland has improved significantly with cases of the disease fewer and further apart.

Responding to a question in Parliament on November 20, Assistant Minister of Agriculture, Mr Oreeditse Molebatsi, however, said the disease situation remained unstable due to continued uncontrolled movement of cattle, pockets of inaccessible areas making vaccination coverage poor, damage of disease control infrastructure mostly by wildlife.

Deliberate acts of vandalism which facilitated mixing of wildlife and livestock also made the situation unstable. Minister Molebatsi noted that the status of disease control infrastructure such as quarantines, cordon fences and buffalo fences protections varied widely.

He told parliament that the buffalo fence was in a poor state in areas where accessibility for maintenance was poor for most of the year due to seasonal flooding of the Okavango Delta.

He said Makalamabedi quarantine infrastructure had been upgraded for holding and receiving live export cattle while construction of zone 2d protection fence is in progress. Several acts of vandalism have been reported though, he said.

Meanwhile Minister Molebatsi said the ministry had a long term FMD plan which included amongst others; Developing Protection zone of 2d which will in addition to controlling animal movements and disease transmission unlock economic potential of zone 2 cattle.

Currently 240 km of the fence is complete up to Matabologa Area and the fence will continue in a westerly course to Namibia border.
When complete several options will be considered including use of purified vaccine and redesignation of the area as FMD free with vaccination.

A similar proposal, he said, can be considered for other parts of Ngamiland subject to consideration of other socio-economic and environmental factors, and obligatory consultation of all stakeholders.

The second offer is improving marketing of Ngamiland cattle to enable farmers to sell their cattle and improve their livelihood. He said so far over 9000 cattle have been exported to Zimbabwe from Ngamiland protection zone.

The Department of Veterinary Services (DVS) officials of Botswana and Zimbabwe are currently discussing the possibility of expanding export from other areas of Ngamiland.

He told the house that Zimbabwe and DVS officials recently toured some of these areas from November 6 to 8, 2013. The third offer in the plan is that movement protocol of livestock is tailored to facilitate slaughter even during outbreaks but the meat is treated in the manner that it is rendered safe.

This has facilitated Botswana Meat Commission (BMC) to significantly increase its kill. BMC also continues to look for alternative market of beef and live cattle.

The plan also notes that enhancing farmer and stakeholder participation in disease control efforts includes farmer participation in vaccination campaigns and maintenance of disease control infrastructure such as cordon fences.

An FMD stakeholder forum is in place consisting of ministry of agriculture officials, farmers’ associations and representatives, and stakeholder institutions such as Kalahari Conservation Society, Department of Wildlife and National Parks, and the Ministry of Lands and Housing (Tawana Land Board).

The forum meets every six months to review progress made with respect to resolutions made in the initials stakeholder consultative forum in July 2012. The plan further recognises continuing education of farmers on all aspects of disease control including highlighting farmer responsibilities in the control of FMD.

A series of workshops have been conducted in the Ngami area (Sehitwa, Kareng, Gumare and Habu). The next series targets the Okavango area. However minister Molebatsi said it is important to note that his ministry will review FMD control plan periodically in consultation with stakeholders.

Member of Parliament for Ngami Mr Taolo Habano had asked the minister to brief the House on the current state of FMD in Ngamiland and the conditions of basic infrastructure on the ground.

He had also wanted the minister to state the long term plans in place, if any, to control FMD in Ngamiland that could assist Ngamiland farmers to market their livestock. Ends