This emerged during a Nation in Conversation panel discussion at Nampo Harvest Day 2026 on 13 May, where industry leaders and government officials debated whether South Africa can build a biosecurity system capable of preventing future crises rather than merely reacting to them.
The panel, moderated by Landbouweekblad editor-in-chief Chris Burgess, comprised Minister of Agriculture John Steenhuisen; Dewald Olivier, CEO of Red Meat Industry Services; Johann Kotzé, CEO of AgriSA; Kobus Bester, owner of Vleisberg Simbra; and Dr Dirk Verwoerd, head feedlot veterinarian at Karan Beef.
‘We cannot work in silos anymore’
Kotzé said the outbreak has revealed major inefficiencies in South Africa’s animal health management systems.
“We cannot work in silos anymore. Government cannot be responsible only for controlled diseases, while the private sector focuses only on production diseases,” he said.
He added that the outbreak had forced both industry and government to recognise the need for formalised public-private partnerships, particularly in disease management and export negotiations.
Bester added that farmers also needed to adapt: “We expect our cattle to adapt to change, but we as producers also need to adapt. We need to ask ourselves honestly whether we did everything we could with the knowledge we had.”
He stressed that farmers, organised agriculture, and government need to work together if the outbreak is to be brought under control.
Biosecurity system has ‘collapsed’
Steenhuisen acknowledged that the country’s biosecurity system has deteriorated badly over the past two decades.
He noted severe weaknesses in provincial veterinary services, including vacancy rates of more than 50% in some areas and poor working conditions at state facilities.
“One of the things that shocked me most when I first visited the Karan Beef feedlot was the hostility and mistrust between public and private sectors,” Steenhuisen said.
According to him, the outbreak has forced government to rethink the division of responsibilities for disease management between national and provincial government structures.
Vaccination strategy central to recovery
Much of the discussion centred on South Africa’s shift towards mass vaccination and its goal of eventually achieving FMD-free-with-vaccination status.
Verwoerd explained that many people misunderstood the concept.
“People confuse freedom with absence. FMD-free-with-vaccination status does not mean the virus is absent. It means the disease is controlled in a way that provides international trade guarantees.”
Steenhuisen said South Africa had secured significantly larger vaccine supplies in recent months.
By the end of May, approximately 15 million vaccine doses will have been imported into the country, with agreements in place to secure further supplies from international manufacturers.
“We want to vaccinate as many animals as possible, as quickly as possible,” Steenhuisen added.
Farmers fearful of reporting outbreaks
According to Bester, fear among farmers remains a major challenge.
“Farmers are afraid at the moment. They are scared of the unknown. Some ask whether they should even report outbreaks, because they fear their farms will be closed down and they won’t be able to trade,” he explained.
He added that trust between government and farmers will have to be rebuilt if the industry hopes to improve disease reporting and compliance.
Olivier said traceability systems will become increasingly important.
“We want to create a passport for animals so that we can show where they came from, where they moved, and whether they were vaccinated,” he said.
However, he cautioned that traceability alone will not solve the crisis: “Traceability is not a silver bullet. Vaccination, biosecurity, and responsible behaviour all need to work together.”
Media questions highlight industry frustration
Questions from the audience and media reflected growing frustration within the livestock industry, particularly around vaccine rollout, regulations, and industry cooperation.
One attendee from an agricultural company said agribusinesses already had infrastructure such as cold chain facilities that could support vaccine distribution.
“We are sitting in rural areas with cold chain infrastructure already in place. Agricultural companies should ask how they can help,” she added.
Steenhuisen welcomed the offer and said government needed to “think outside the box” by leveraging private-sector infrastructure and expertise.
Audience member Dr Litha Magingxa, president and CEO of the Agricultural Research Council, argued that scientific evidence needs to play a stronger role in shaping regulations.
“Scientific facts should guide decisions and sometimes even supersede regulations,” he said.
Verwoerd agreed, saying regulations should always be grounded in science: “All regulations should be built on science. If you are standing on solid science, you can defend your decisions.”
The audience also questioned whether South Africa is planning for enough vaccines, especially considering the disease’s ability to spread to species beyond cattle.
Verwoerd warned that the disease landscape had changed significantly over the past few years: “We are dealing with a much more complex disease environment now. The virus has adapted and transmission patterns have changed.”
He noted that pigs had recently become increasingly affected in ways not previously seen in South Africa’s SAT-type FMD outbreaks.
‘The virus is the enemy’
Kotzé said the industry’s biggest challenge would be preventing anger and frustration from undermining cooperation.
“The enemy is the virus, not each other,” he said.
He acknowledged that farmers are angry because many have suffered devastating losses, but warned that internal conflict will only weaken the industry’s response.
“We have the ability to overcome this crisis, but only if government, industry, and farmers continue working together,” Kotzé said.
Steenhuisen added that trust will start returning once farmers see vaccines reaching farms and markets reopening.
“For the first time in decades, South Africa now has a pathway to get ahead of FMD and open up export opportunities for the red meat industry,” he concluded.
