Focus on SA trade, but don’t forget biosecurity challenges

Don’t forget that foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), which we’ve discussed extensively these past few weeks, is still very much a challenge. The collaboration between government, organised agriculture, and the private sector that many have highlighted in their various agricultural gatherings remains a valid and essential idea to pursue.

I am raising this issue because I often fear that as time passes, we may all focus on US trade matters and ignore some of the persistent domestic challenges. Indeed, the trade friction issues are urgent and present notable costs to the affected businesses, but for South Africa to export widely to the world, we must strengthen both plant and animal health.

We have fallen short in this area in recent years and now rely on some imported vaccines for FMD. The capability we had at the Agricultural Research Council (ARC) and Onderstepoort Biological Products was a victim of some shortcomings of the past.

But at the 2025 Biosecurity Conference held in June at the University of Pretoria, it was recognised that South Africa needs to rebuild this capacity, drawing on support from the private sector, government, and academia, among other stakeholders.

There was a similar sentiment at the FMD Indaba hosted by the Department of Agriculture in July 2025 at the ARC-Vegetable, Industrial and Medicinal Plants campus in Roodeplaat. The conclusions and resolutions of these gatherings are not the end of the road; they’re the starting point.

Now, more than ever, we need to focus on supporting the cattle farmers and beef producers who continue to experience major financial losses due to disease outbreaks.

Widescale vaccination and practical co-operation between farming businesses, state veterinary scientists in various provinces, and other regulators are key to ensuring the agriculture sector survives the current challenges. The livestock and poultry industries are crucial to South Africa’s farming economy, accounting for half of the sector’s gross value added.

The point I raised in some of my previous columns remains: we must assess the possibility of allowing some private laboratories to be more involved in the development of vaccines, such as those for FMD. Of course, this would have to follow specific guidelines set by the state, but the idea is to ensure we have supplies of critical vaccines for the sector.

Outbreaks of certain diseases, such as FMD, are becoming more frequent, and we must be ready for this new environment.

And while we typically focus on livestock and poultry matters, we need a similar focus on plant health. For South Africa to continue exporting fresh produce to the EU, Africa, Asia, and other regions of the world, meeting plant health standards is key.

We also need to be better prepared for any potential disease outbreaks that may present challenges to our sector. This, too, requires an effective and continuous collaboration between government, organised agriculture, and the private sector.

I am raising these issues now because, while the country’s trade tensions with the US are urgent, they should not divert attention from other critical matters. Those leading various teams in government will need to ensure that all the work continues simultaneously and the outcomes of the biosecurity gatherings are followed through.

We have a tendency in South Africa to not follow through with our plans, but biosecurity can’t fall victim to that. It is central to the survival of our farming sector and the access to the new markets we’re currently debating as part of our export diversification, especially considering our troubles in the US market.

Wandile Sihlobo is the chief economist at Agbiz. Email him at [email protected].