The Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) outbreak is severely impacting farmers’ livelihoods, with many expected to go out of business by year-end due to significant financial losses.
Stakeholders revealed this during the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial FMD Indaba held by the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development in Durban this week.
African Farmers Association of South Africa (Afasa) KZN chairperson Mbongeni Sikhakhane said: “We are in crisis in KZN due to this FMD outbreak. Farmers are struggling now, especially those in deep rural areas (controlled by) amakhosi.”
“Due to the disease, farmers are not allowed to sell,” Sikhakhane said.
“Now these farmers have to face the situation where they have to buy more feed to feed these animals, but where can they get money to buy feed, because they are not selling? In the farming business, to get money, you have to sell.”
Red Meat Producers Organization (RPO) KZN chairman and national RPO vice-chairman Angus Williamson said the outbreak has significantly impacted red meat producers, leading to severe market repercussions. This includes the increased financial burden of feeding animals throughout the winter months.
Williamson highlighted the significant impact of the February outbreak on the livestock market within the Newcastle-Dundee Disaster Management Area (DMA). He noted that some farmers in the DMA continue to face challenges in selling their cattle, leading to ongoing difficulties in marketing their livestock.
“Tens of millions of rand have been lost,” Williamson said.
He explained that producers have one chance to sell livestock, and that is when they wean calves, however they were unable to sell calves at weaning time in April/May.
“It had dire consequences, financial consequences for the producers in the Newcastle-Dundee area. Several of those farmers had to cash in on life (insurance) policies. They were unable to contribute towards their policies going forward, unable to pay co-op debts, and unable to pay bank debts. So, it has had effects in the DMA,” Williamson said.
He explained that FMD will hamper traditional slaughterings; however, they encourage the public to go through proper channels and buy their meat at registered abattoirs and butcheries.
Kwanalu President and Hluhluwe commercial farmer Peter John Hassard said both commercial and communal farmers are affected by FMD because they cannot sell cattle. He said sales were needed to make money, send children to school and pay accounts.
“It is a big concern to us as a farming industry, especially the cattle farming industry,” Hassard said.
“I think by the end of this year, there’s going to be a lot of farmers out of business, and it’s really a serious problem.”
Hassard said he could not say how much the financial impact is, but it was huge.
Speaking about his experience, he said they were in quarantine for eight months, meaning he could not sell an animal for eight months in a year.
“It’s a huge impact, especially on the farming community. People have to sell to be able to pay (their) accounts. They need to pay their people who work for them,” Hassard said.
“It’s a knock-on effect because those people then go into town and buy stuff in town. So, that money is not going into the town, so the town also dies. It’s a huge effect and we need to do something.”
