News

The foot-and-mouth disease outbreak in Eswatini, first reported in May 2025, has spread extensively across the country, affecting cattle and pigs, with only one region remaining virus-free.

South Africa has resumed sending foot-and-mouth disease field virus strains to the UK’s Pirbright Institute for the first time in more than a decade, marking a critical step in boosting outbreak response and ensuring vaccines being procured remain effective.

The Gauteng Provincial Government has escalated its response to the ongoing foot-and-mouth disease outbreak, describing the situation as a ‘very serious disaster’ with far-reaching implications for food security, jobs, and economic stability.

The International Trade Administration Commission of South Africa has launched an investigation into the appropriate level of tariff protection against imported sugar, after the sugar industry asked government for a significant increase, while the beverage industry called for lower tariffs.

Livestock farmers around the foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) quarantine area near Gouda in the Western Cape are growing increasingly frustrated by delays in the release of a second round of laboratory test results, which could see the quarantine lifted if all samples test negative.

The future of South Africa’s beef industry took centre stage at the Red Meat Revolution Information Day in Pretoria on 21 January, where more than 260 producers, breeders, and specialists discussed practical ways to keep cattle farming sustainable and profitable.

Long-term thinking is critical to the survival of South Africa’s wine industry, as producers navigate accelerating technological change and steadily declining global wine consumption, agricultural economist Dr Jan Greyling told delegates at the Vinpro Nedbank Producer Information Day.

Consumer food price inflation held steady at 4,4% in December 2025, unchanged from November, according to Statistics South Africa (Stats SA), and while overall inflation for 2025 was the lowest in more than two decades, elevated meat prices continue to weigh on the country’s food basket.

South Africa’s strong festive-season tourism performance is increasingly being driven by domestic travellers, a trend that is giving agritourism enterprises around the country a significant boost.

Agri Skills Transfer provides aspiring agricultural professionals with a practical entry point into the sector while equipping employers with skilled graduates who offer far more than basic labour.

The North West Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD) has retracted a circular titled ‘Foot and Mouth Disease Movement Protocol for Live Animals and Game into and within North West Province’, which was released on 14 January.

South Africa’s pork industry is facing growing pressure as confirmed cases of both African swine fever and foot-and-mouth disease in pigs trigger stricter biosecurity measures and renewed concerns over export viability.

Rolling bankruptcies in global vertical farming over the past five years have slowed the industry’s momentum but not its innovation. Instead, the collapse of several high-profile players has pushed operators and investors to shift focus from hype to viable economics.

Livestock industry leaders have expressed growing confidence in South Africa’s national foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) control strategy following the first meeting of the newly established FMD Industry Coordination Council on 21 January.

Zimbabwean veterinary authorities have reported an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in Zimbabwe’s Mangwe district in Matabeleland South, near the country's border with Botswana.

The organisers of the Bloem Show have taken the unprecedented step of excluding all cloven-hoofed animals from the 2026 event, citing ongoing foot-and-mouth disease outbreaks and the need to prevent the further spread in South Africa’s livestock industry.

South Africa’s fight against foot-and-mouth disease has entered a new phase, with the private sector taking on a more direct and formal role in vaccine supply and deployment.

British American Tobacco South Africa (BATSA) has announced it will close its manufacturing facility in Heidelberg, Gauteng, by the end of 2026, citing the rising illicit trade that has eroded the legal tobacco market and made continued local production unfeasible.

Just after lunch on Sunday, 18 January 2026, the messages started popping on forums that fires were raging between Bathurst and Port Alfred in the Eastern Cape.

Following Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen’s foot-and-mouth disease briefing on 14 January, agricultural organisation leaders are questioning government’s ability to follow through on the urgent vaccine rollout, arguing that greater private-sector involvement is needed to distribute and oversee supply.