Exclusive: Damning Report Reveals State Knew of FMD Threat But Failed to Act

The Common Sense has seen a 2022 government report that identified that animal control and vaccination policies were failing, posing a great risk to South Africa’s agricultural economy. The report was compiled by a ministerial task team appointed by the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform, and Rural Development (DALRRD) and examined the handling of major animal disease outbreaks, including foot-and-mouth disease (FMD).

The report describes FMD as one of the clearest indicators that South Africa’s animal biosecurity system was already in crisis. It states plainly that “animal biosecurity in South Africa is in a crisis” and that “the veterinary system and animal biosecurity system is broken”, warning that failures in prevention, detection, and containment were systemic rather than accidental.

It finds that FMD spread into areas previously regarded as free of the disease, including KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, North West, Gauteng, and the Free State. This spread is linked directly to movement failures, with the report stating that “the total lack of movement control of animals is the most important trigger mechanism for the current spread of these diseases”, particularly through auctions, sale pens, and communal systems, where animals are co-mingled without effective verification.

A central finding is that there was no effective national chain of command to manage outbreaks. The report records that this “broken chain of command resulted in delays and inconsistencies in the management of the last FMD and ASF [African swine fever] outbreaks”, adding that prolonged negotiations between national and provincial authorities delayed emergency responses and undermined containment.

The report is also sharply critical of surveillance and diagnostics. It states there is “a lack of disease surveillance and proper controls to prevent the spread of these diseases” and highlights severe diagnostic delays, noting that laboratory results were delivered “in 30 days instead of at least 36 hours or less”, preventing rapid intervention.

Vaccination policy is identified as a major failure. The report records that authorities resisted vaccination because of concerns about regaining international FMD-free status, stating that “the argument by DALRRD against this request was that the application of vaccination would endanger the application of South Africa to the [World Organisation for Animal Health] for reinstatement of FMD freedom”. This stance was maintained despite officials knowing that reinstatement would “at least take another three to four years to realise”, with vaccination in KwaZulu-Natal only approved about a year after the outbreak was diagnosed.

Agriculture analysts who spoke to The Common Sense said that exactly the same argument has again been employed by the state to deny vaccines to farmers, thereby exacerbating the current crisis.

The report further raises concerns about vaccine shortages, quality control, and logistics, noting failures in cold-chain management, batch testing, and the declining production capacity of Onderstepoort Biological Products (OBP), a state-owned vaccine entity. The failure of OPB, once a leading global vaccine producer, for reasons of corruption and mismanagement has compounded the current crisis. The Common Sense has been told that certain actors near the state are worried about the private sourcing of vaccines given that such a precedent would threaten OBP, potentially cutting corrupt actors off from lucrative state contracts and tenders.

Despite this pressure John Steenhuisen, the current agriculture minister, has in recent days opened the way to a degree of private vaccine procurement.

The 2022 report also highlights poor maintenance of border and protection-zone fencing, describing key fences as being “in a severe state of disrepair”.

Finally, the report warns that these failures had serious socio-economic consequences. Movement restrictions and loss of market access pushed farmers into illegal movements to secure food and income, with the report stating that “livestock owners resorted to illegal movements and marketing means … thereby contributing to a break in biosecurity and spread of disease”.

Taken together, the report shows that the state was warned as early as 2022 that animal disease controls and vaccination policy were failing. It documents clear knowledge of the risks posed to food security, livelihoods, and export markets, while also recording that the corrective actions repeatedly recommended were not implemented.