Move the Red Line north

Another call has been made for the veterinary cordon fence in northern Namibia to be moved in order to give emerging farmers access to international meat markets.
Kenya Kambowe
KENYA KAMBOWE



While many are calling for the removal of the veterinary cordon fence known as the Red Line, Kavango West inhabitants say it should rather be moved further north in order for farmers to penetrate the big markets.

This was one of the submissions made during a regional consultative workshop held at Nkurenkuru in preparation of the second national land conference scheduled for September.

According to the chairperson of the Shambiyu Traditional Authority interim committee, Bonifatius Wakudumo, small-scale commercial farmers north of the fence are being denied access to international markets.

“We cannot enter international markets because of the Red Line. There are a number of small-scale commercial farmers along the Red Line who have hundreds of cattle which they can sell to make a living and even penetrate the international market but they cannot do so,” Wakudumo told Namibian Sun on the sidelines of the conference.

He acknowledged the importance of controlling animal disease, which is why he did not want the fence removed altogether. Instead, he wanted it moved north to help farmers.

Wakudumo said if the fence was moved the government must then set up blocks that are demarcated as a control measure. If an outbreak is suspected on one farm, the infected cattle will not be able to mix with the non-infected ones.

“Through this we are not just addressing the Red Line issue but the poverty issue. Farmers with a lot of cattle are encouraged to sell their livestock but where will they sell them? If the Red Line is moved up a bit it will surely address this issue,” Wakudumo said.

The fence, which has been in place for many decades, is used to isolate foot-and-mouth disease outbreaks in the north from the farms in the southern part of the country.

Calls for the removal of the fence have increased over the years, especially when in January 2016 Namibia was declared free of FMD and all restrictions that had been imposed following an outbreak of the disease in the northern communal areas in 2015 were lifted.

However, last week the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry confirmed a new outbreak of the disease in the Kabbe South Constituency of the Zambezi Region.

This outbreak affects two kraals and approximately 1 000 cattle are at risk of being affected at Musele Island in Kabbe South.

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Namibian Sun 2024-03-29

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