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Organised agriculture in South Africa has called for urgent government action following the belated release of a damning report on an investigation by a Task Team on Animal Biosecurity.
Agri SA said the report details numerous and serious failings in the veterinary and animal biosecurity systems in the country, describing the systems as ‘broken’.
CEO Christo van der Rheede, said on Thursday that the release of the report comes amid a vaccine shortage that was wreaking havoc in the livestock sector.
He said the problems identified were far-reaching, from institutional design and budgetary constraints to production constraints at Onderstepoort Biological Products Limited (OBP).
“These findings validate the concerns the sector has repeatedly raised and highlight the magnitude of the threat biosecurity failures pose to the country’s food security,” Van Der Rheede said.
“Of critical importance now is that government, in partnership with the sector, works to tackle the problems identified with great urgency. This matter must be a priority of the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform, and Rural Development,” he added.
Agri SA said now that the issue has been identified as an impediment to effective biosecurity, the resolution of this intractable problem must be prioritised.
“This is the only way to ensure that the country has sufficient and readily available vaccines and that timely interventions are implemented to prevent and manage animal disease outbreaks, Van Der Rheede said.
