OWN CORRESPONDENT, Pietermaritzburg | Wednesday
GOVERNMENT is considering compensating farmers for losses following the outbreak of foot and mouth disease on a pig farm at Camperdown in the KwaZulu-Natal midlands, which has already seen Namibia banning all pork imports from South Africa and Botswana and the European Union weighing their options.
Agriculture Minister Thoko Didiza said the director general of finance was analysing their losses and possible compensation after a month-long embargo was placed on the movement of all agricultural produce from the quarantine area. Human movement has been restricted to the absolute minimum.
Didiza said she was “satisfied” with the work done to contain the disease in the 10km quarantine area, and said Namibia’s decision would not affect South Africa to any great extent because meat exports to Namibia and Botswana were “not large scale”.
Namibia also banned the import of products from cloven hoofed animals from both KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga, including sheep, cattle, goats and game.
South Africa’s other neighbours had also been informed of the outbreak.
Farmers in the 30km radius zone around the affected farm were this week struggling to come to terms with the quarantine measures.
Farmers outside the 10km quarantine area, but inside the 30km zone, are only allowed to move animals after obtaining a permit, and then only to take animals to two abattoirs inside the 30km zone.
A large number of pig and other livestock farmers are found in the area, along with game farms and diaries.
During a meeting this week, more than 400 farmers demanded the immediate deployment of SA National Defence Force troops to assist police in enforcing the quarantine.
Didiza said the SANDF was on standby to be sent in on short notice, but she had been assured that the police were capable of handling the situation.
An investigation is underway to determine where the virus came from, but it is believed that the disease was “imported” via a ship which docked in Durban harbour.