13 Oct 2026

Local cattle farmers are united in an urgent appeal for government financial assistance, citing that nearly nine months of strict foot and mouth disease (FMD) restrictions have pushed them to the brink of financial ruin. 

Singing from the same hymn sheet at the National Cattle and Beef Pitso at Rasesa Lodge recently, farmers said the prolonged outbreak had halted cattle sales, cutting off the primary source of income they relied on to pay wages, clear debts and support their families.

Speaking to the immediate realities facing local producers, Advocate Linchwe Tlhowe representing farming associations, stressed that the economic consequences of movement restrictions stretch far beyond the farm gates. 

“From a farmers’ perspective, the right to live entails the right to eat and enjoy a dignified life. Thus, if animals cannot move, farmers experience serious losses because the halting of livestock trade means they can no longer maintain their operations or preserve their livelihoods,” he stated. 

Advocate Tlhowe emphasised the need to include farmers in decision making to balance disruptions, arguing that regulatory policies must weigh the immediate survival of producers against administrative halts. “Our rights are not at all intended to replace and suspend veterinary science and protocols but science and human survival must co-exist,” he said.

Policy and regulatory specialist, formerly with the Department of Veterinary Services and having worked with the Presidential task team on COVID-19, Dr Kereng Masupu shared his views on FMD control, veterinary policy, cattle movement and vaccination strategy. He highlighted how deeply disruptive FMD outbreaks were to local households, societies and communities. 

Dr Masupu further noted that FMD severely impacted ecosystems and stakeholders. Consequently, he said interventions must balance precise viral containment with socio-economic and trade sustainability to ensure pathways that would allow community survival. He outlined a strategic framework for intervention driven by three dimensions.

Dr Masupu said the three dimensional approach entails prevention by keeping disease agents from entering the least susceptible areas, control by taking active measures, such as vaccination to steadily reduce number of cases and eradication by completely eliminating the disease from the region. Bringing the practical aspects of FMD to the forum’s attention, animal health, veterinary law and FMD specialist, Dr Letlhogile Modisa stated that the disease caused global disruptions and remained a major problem worldwide.

Regionally, he said FMD affected most countries in the Southern Africa, adding that neighbouring countries had ultimately became infected because South Africa had been battling with the outbreak since 2017. Data from Statistics Botswana, analysed by an independent economic analyst and industry specialist, Dr Keith Jefferis reveals that the livestock sector contributed P2.3 billion to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2025. Meanwhile, he said the domestic meat processing industry added P1.5 billion during the same period. 

However, Dr Jefferis said a steep downturn has sharply reversed these gains in 2026. He said during the first quarter of the year, the livestock sector value shrank by 50 per cent. 

“The shockwaves deepened in the second quarter as the meat processing sector contracted by 60 per cent,” he said. He said the contraction had culminated in a devastating blow for i ternational trade, as beef exports had plummeted to effectively zero since April 2026.  “The total halt follows stringent restrictions imposed after severe FMD outbreaks across the region, which forced high value global markets, including the European Union, to suspend all fresh beef intake from Botswana. 

The sudden drop in output has dealt a direct blow to nationwide agricultural suppliers,” he said.  In addition, Dr Jefferis said a widening indirect ripple effect was beginning to heavily strain secondary sectors that relied heavily on the circulation of rural agricultural income, most notably wholesale, retail and health care services. One of the attendees, a farmer from Ghanzi area, Mr Job Mosupi highlighted critical security breach in Zone 13.  

He said severe manpower shortage was a challenge, as searching of vehicles and people crossing the border to and from Namibia was mostly done by volunteers due to shortage of veterinary and police officers. Mr Mosupi was equally concerned by the dilapidated fence along the borderline between Namibia and Botswana posing risk of potential spread of the disease from neighbouring country.

 Mr Mosupi urged authorities to prioritise immediate bilateral consultations and repair the boundary lines to secure active containment zones.

Mr Aobakwe Banamile, a pastoral farmer operating in the western outskirts of Salajwe argued that while FMD was a recurring and historical challenge, the current escalation into an industry wide crisis reflected a failure of oversight.  “This escalation shows that someone is not doing their job, and this level of incompetency is digging straight into the farmers’ pockets,” Mr Banamile remarked. Mr Mike de Beer, an independent feedlot agent operating in the Lobatse area questioned why the government has been hesitant to declare a formal state of emergency.  Mr de Beer drew comparisons to the aggressive policy frameworks deployed during COVID-19 pandemic. With movement restrictions preventing livestock sales to Botswana Meat Commission and local abattoirs, Mr de Beer noted that feedlot operators and farmers could no longer service their commercial loans, therefore government must step in and negotiate relaxed payment terms before the entire banking ecosystem faced widespread agricultural defaults The convener of Pitso and Member of Parliament for Kgatleng West, Dr Unity Dow said the principal objective of the meeting was to collectively share progressive thoughts and views, identify pressing challenges within the community and amplify them directly for the benefit of local farmers. According to Dr Dow, establishing an inclusive dialogue allowed the community to build a stronger consensus before presenting formal recommendations to relevant governing bodies. ENDS