25 Feb 2024

Farmers along the border villages in the Good Hope District have been urged to protect their livestock from Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) that has affected cattle in neighbouring South Africa.

The outbreak of FMD in South Africa, and subsequent spread to the North West Province, was a serious threat to livestock farmers in the Good Hope District.

The advice came from Good Hope District Commissioner, Mr Rapetse Mathumo when officially opening a two-day Farmers Training Workshop on Good Livestock Management Practices at Big Valley Lodge near Lobatse recently.

He said since many people in the district depended on rearing cattle, goats and sheep for their livelihood, it would be disastrous if FMD was to spread into their area.

He therefore encouraged every farmer in the district to strictly monitor the movement of their livestock and adhere to any other guideline on the prevention of FMD.

“Our economy will be severely affected if by any mistake the Foot and Mouth Disease was to spread into our district.

The meat from our cattle will no longer be exported to Europe.

This workshop therefore was organised to encourage a buy-in from everyone on how to protect our livestock from FMD,” he said.

Mr Mathumo also urged farmers to use livestock improvement opportunities offered by government at the Ramatlabama Artificial Insemination Centre to improve the quality of their livestock.

Delivering a presentation about FMD, Dr Jaone Sebina from the Department of Veterinary Services explained that government had taken strict measures to control FMD since independence.

He said one of those measures was the zoning of the country through cordon fences to control the movement of livestock and animals.

Dr Sebina said the last time there was an outbreak of FMD in Botswana was in 2001.

“The fight against FMD is taken very seriously because the disease has a severe impact on the livestock sector if it can spread around the country.

When we have a case of FMD, we move swiftly to eradicate the disease by killing all the cattle in the affected area,” he said.

He said this measure of killing cattle in the affected area was usually followed by restocking of the area.

 He said another way of controlling the FMD was through vaccination of cattle in the affected areas.

However, Dr Sebina said vaccinating cattle against FMD was expensive and should be repeated thrice every year for a period of five to 10 years before the area could be declared as FMD free.

He said when the zone was affected by FMD, meat from that zone would lose value and would also be banned from export to the lucrative markets outside the country.

Dr Sebina said the Ministry of Agriculture was therefore on high alert to ensure that FMD from South Africa did not spread into Botswana.

He said South Africa had 167 FMD cases in six out of their nine provinces.

He said the outbreak in South Africa started in 2019.
He said the ministry had therefore banned cloven-hoofed livestock from South Africa from entering Botswana.

Dr Sebina also said the ministry would construct a cordon fence near the border to stop livestock from moving between Botswana and South Africa.

Acting agricultural coordinator in the Southern District, Dr Benjamin Sebonego pointed out that FMD was a highly contagious viral disease, which affected cloven-hoofed livestock and animals.

He said the disease had high morbidity and could spread rapidly within the population if no interventions were made.

He further said high mortality may be experienced in young animals affected by the disease.

“It is a major impediment to livestock and livestock products trade at national and international level,” he said.

He said transmission of the disease was through saliva, milk, urine, faeces and semen.

He said species affected by the disease were cattle, buffaloes, pigs and sheep.

 He said signs of the disease included fever, excessive salivating and nasal discharge, lameness and reluctance to move, sloughing of hoofs, vesicles of feet, mouth and udder and ruptured vesicles.

Farmers expressed appreciation for construction of the cordon fence in their area.  They asked for strong patrol of the fence to ensure that people desisted from sneaking livestock between Botswana

and South Africa. ENDS