Expert warns of FMD disaster

Wallie Roux, an independent agricultural expert, says Namibia will be staring a disaster in the face, if the country is hit by a foot-and-mouth (FMD) disease outbreak after the proposed moving of the red line to the Angolan land border.Roux stressed that FMD not only affects cloven-hoofed ruminants like cattle, sheep and goats. Pigs and all species of antelope, as well as elephant and giraffe, are susceptible to the disease. “Hence, besides a devastating blow of an FMD outbreak to the farming community, it would also negatively impact on the hunting and agri-tourism industry, depending on the spread and severity of such an outbreak.”These economic sectors will be directly influenced should an FMD outbreak occur, however, downstream sectors would suffer the same consequences in losing raw materials for further processing.Agriculture, including downstream industries, contributes roughly N$1.8 billion annually to the GDP and provides 20% of Namibia's jobs. Hunting contributes roughly N$550 million to the country with 15 000 jobs supported by this industry. If these were to be halted due to a nationwide FMD outbreak, the effects would be disastrous.Roux said further that the red line can be moved to the Angolan border in the next 20 years - under certain conditions.His comments come in the wake of calls from several quarters for the removal of the veterinary cordon fence to be discussed in October at the upcoming second land conference.Roux told Namibian Sun one of the conditions is Angola obtaining the same veterinary status as Namibia from the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), meaning an official declaration of being FMD-free.“This per se, would not be an option in the foreseeable future,” said Roux. According to him, Angola is not well-known as a country with an animal husbandry sector. It is rather recognised as an oil exporting country. “Hence, despite some farming with exotic fruits due to its sub-tropical climate, farming with animals was at no time a priority, and still is not.”Roux further said animal husbandry in sub-tropical conditions poses additional challenges regarding animal health and the maintenance thereof. For instance, animals are more susceptible to the transfer of diseases by insects and the like as opposed to the much drier climate like in Namibia. “This obviously increases the surveillance and veterinary costs to maintain animal health on a farm.”During October last year, the then economic planning minister, Tom Alweendo, called for the removal of the red line so that all Namibians could be incorporated into the mainstream economy.“To achieve disease-free status, there is a need to expedite the erection of a fence on the northern border to eliminate the pockets of infection in the livestock populations in the Northern Communal Areas.”President Hage Geingob also commented on the red line this month saying the “opening of the red line is not a question of whether you want it or not. It is a question of a health situation, about our other markets”.Nampa reported that Geingob added that the Angolan side needs “to be addressed… if Angolan cattle are not treated, they will bring the diseases. It is a thing we must address.”However, he emphasised that the situation, where Namibia is divided by the red line 28 years into independence, cannot continue unabated.According to Roux, another option would be to move the Veterinary Cordon Fence (VCF) to the land-border between Namibia and Angola (between the Kunene and Okavango rivers). The rivers will act as natural borders given the level of water in each. If this option would be pursued, all animals in the Northern Communal Areas (NCA) would have to be inoculated according to OIE regulations to ensure that the entire Namibia could then be declared as a FMD-free zone. However this will exclude the Zambezi Region. This region has endemic animal diseases due to the proximity of neighbouring countries like Zimbabwe and the free-roaming of buffalo that carry the FMD-virus, but are not affected by it themselves.“Given this option, the government would have to demarcate a surveillance zone to be monitored and patrolled all along the Okavango River, through the land-border between Namibia and Angola, and the Kunene River up to the sea. This surveillance zone and the monitoring thereof would be a requirement from the OIE to sustain the country's FMD-free status.”The distance of this border would be roughly 1 100 kilometres.Also the government would then have to overcome and solve the additional socioeconomic challenges of families living both sides of the border. “In reality, it will mean that farmers who graze their animals cross-border depending on the available grazing, as well as do frequent cross-border visits to other family members in both countries will no longer be able to do this. This in itself would pose a tremendous practical challenge to the government in ensuring the effective patrolling of the surveillance zone.”On questions of giving access to commercial markets for NCA farmers, Roux is of the view the current farming methods being used in the NCA are sustainable, given subsistence farming. However, he said it is not commercially viable. He explained that there are more livestock in the NCA than in the areas south of the VCF. But, in general, communal farming comprises of individuals each having a few livestock that graze on communal land and utilise communal water points. Survey figures indicate numbers of six to 17 cattle per household.“In the communal farming fraternity, wealth is hedged within the livestock owned - if you need cash you sell an animal.”Roux said communal farming in the NCA therefore has little inclination towards expanding the farming operation. “Who takes responsibility for the grazing and the water points within a communal farming system?”According to the farmers in the NCA, Roux is correct. This month, they told Namibian Sun their main need is not to export beef to international markets, but is rather the issue of grazing opportunities within the NCA. They say once the Angolan border is closed, this will leave them without grazing opportunities, while all the farms south of the red line are fenced off, which will make it difficult for them.Over 30 000 head of cattle belonging to Namibians is said to be grazing in Angola and it is also believed that about 2 800 Namibians either own homesteads or farm in communal areas in the neighbouring country, while others cross the border with their livestock every morning for grazing and return to Namibia in the evenings.This practice would have to stop if the red line is moved to the Angolan border. More than half of the country's 3.8 million cattle are in the NCA. According to Roux, in general, the NCA farmers are not livestock farmers from a commercial point of view. According to him there are programmes in the NCA to encourage farmers to look better after their animals and to upgrade the quality of their animals. “However, despite successes, these programmes are diminutive in the task ahead to try and convince the average communal farmer to engage in a commercial venture.”ELLANIE SMIT ELLANIE SMIT

Expert warns of FMD disaster

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Namibian Sun 2026-09-21

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Expert warns of FMD disaster

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Namibian Sun 2026-09-21

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