The Red Meat Producers Organization (RPO) took note of the latest monitoring report on the foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) outbreak as released by the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development.

The latest updates on the FMD outbreak, according to the monitoring status report dated 29 August 2022, indicate that an additional nine facilities are now infected with FMD.

This brings the total new outbreaks to 127 cases, as seen below:

• KwaZulu-Natal, from 73 to 80.
• Gauteng, from 3 to 6.
• The Free State, from 7 to 24.
• Mpumalanga, one new outbreak.

These additional outbreaks have occurred during the current lockdown period, which is an indication of how much effort must be made to combat the further spread of the disease. The outbreaks occurred during the period when there is a ban on the movement of cattle, and it can be speculated what the total number of outbreaks would have been if the ban had not been introduced.

The RPO is on record that the biosecurity measures on farms are now of utmost importance and that each producer must take responsibility for his/her own farming enterprise by way of self-regulation.

The RPO once again appeals to producers not to bring in animals on their farms of which the health status cannot be confirmed. The mission statement of the RPO is to build the profitability and sustainability of producers at the ground level, and the organisation, therefore, does everything in its power to negotiate the best possible outcome for producers by way of constructive liaison with the government.

The progress and growth of the red meat industry are a major priority for the RPO. Therefore hard work is being done to protect the national herd against animal diseases and to cope with the current outbreaks. – Press release, RPO