Red line remains critical to FMD control

As South Africa continues its foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) vaccine rollout, the CEO of Red Meat Industry Services (RMIS) in South Africa, Dewald Olivier, says the red line currently plays a vital role in Namibia’s biosecurity.

“The red line definitely plays a role in your safety at this stage. I also understand, just like in South Africa, there is a socio-economic problem with the red line,” he says.

Olivier stresses that the veterinary cordon fence is vital to safeguarding the red meat industry. “In our conversations with the agricultural union and red meat producers, it has been important to keep the red line in place, and I think it needs to remain in place at all costs,” he says.

Other side

Olivier, however, acknowledged the challenges faced by farmers north of the red line, particularly regarding market access. “It is terribly important, and I think you are already doing it, to look at the farmers on the other side of the red line. I think that is already happening, but keeping it there at all costs is terribly important,” he says.

He believes more concerted efforts are needed to integrate farmers north of the red line into formal markets.

“The big outcome is, of course, to give these producers on the other side of the red line a market for their animals and, of course, a market for their meat. They want access to the same markets as commercial farmers, and I think that causes a lot of tension,” Olivier says.

FMD threat looming

On the threat of FMD spreading across the border, Olivier says the disease remains a serious concern.

“I would very much like to say that it is an ‘if’ and not a ‘when’. But this disease is highly contagious, and from a policy point of view, I think there are three or four important things,” he says.

He adds that regional collaboration is vital in managing FMD outbreaks.

“They naturally play a very important role. If we as SADC countries and South Africa can stand together in a specific approach to this, it will strengthen our ability to manage the disease,” Olivier says.