During an Ordinary Council Meeting on July 30, Kouga Executive Mayor, Hattingh Bornman, tabled a motion of exigency addressing the devastating Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) outbreak in the region. The council unanimously accepted the recommendations to consider the current conditions as a local economic state of disaster and to request the relevant provincial and national departments to declare the same to obtain additional support.
Urgent measures for a growing crisis
Bornman emphasised the severity of the situation. “I hereby table a Motion of Exigency under Rule 30 of the Standing Rules and Orders for Meetings of Council and all its Committees on the devastating FMD outbreak and recommend that Council seek guidance to declare the viral outbreak and its economic impact as a local state of disaster,” said Bornman.
The outbreak was first reported on April 30, at The Glen 1 and The Glen 2, just outside of Humansdorp.
The municipality swiftly responded by restricting the movement of all cloven-hoofed animals in the Kouga and Kou-Kamma region, collaborating closely with the Agri Tsitsikamma East Farmers Association (ATO) to implement sanitation points at all entrances to the affected areas.
Worsening conditions
On May 16, another suspected case was reported on a small beef farm near Palmietvlei, which was later confirmed positive for FMD, followed by a neighboring dairy farm.
Despite collective efforts to contain the virus, it has spread from the Palmietvlei area towards Oyster Bay and the Tsitsikamma region. Currently, 48 farms are affected, ranging from small to large herds.
“The economic impact is devastating to our local farming community and has the potential to be detrimental to the local economy should the virus continue to spread,” said Bornman.
Impact on local farmers
The outbreak has led to:
- An estimated milk production loss of up to 40 percent due to discarded milk through treatments.
- Lower milk quality due to infected udders.
- Veterinary costs, mainly for treating affected cows.
- Additional labour costs due to longer working hours.
- Additional minerals and feed are required for affected animals.
The ATO estimates a total loss for the first 45 days of infection to be between R120 million and R150 million, with potential losses reaching R600 million by the end of the year.
Vaccination and culling
“The only method of controlling the viral infection is through vaccination,” said Bornman.
ATO, in collaboration with the State Veterinary, advises that there are approximately 90 000 producing cows in the affected area. With a moderate culling rate of 15 percent in a normal year, this amounts to a total of 13 500 cows needing to be culled.
At an estimated R9 000 per cow, there is a potential further loss of R122 million if an abattoir for these animals does not become available soon.
Economic impact
“Dairy farms in our area create around 3 000 direct job opportunities and thousands more down the value chain,” Bornman noted.
“I believe that this outbreak has the potential to cause the biggest economic crisis in Kouga since COVID-19, and it is, therefore, critical that we as a municipality do everything in our power to mitigate this situation and support the local agricultural sector.”
He said that the Council’s swift acceptance of these recommendations underscores their commitment to addressing the crisis and mitigating the impact on the local farming community and economy.
