Agri dept launches vaccine campaign against Foot and Mouth Disease
Agriculture MEC, Nandi Ndalane, who volunteered to vaccinate some of the cattle herself during the campaign, expressed her confidence that the measures that are carried out will help combat FMD and importantly bring to a halt the spread of the disease.
LIMPOPO – Farmers in the Niani area can breathe a sigh of relief after the launch of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development’s vaccination campaign in response to the outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease in Limpopo.
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Over 400 cattle at the Shakadza Dipping Tank were vaccinated last Wednesday, after the disease was reported not far from Mangaya village.
The vaccination campaign is part of the department’s precautionary measures to ensure the disease does not spread to Shakadza and other villages in Niani, explained the spokesperson for the department, Joshua Kwapa.
Kwapa said the vaccination of cattle at Shakadza Dipping Tank was also done to revitalise the tank, which has been abandoned since 2018 and scale cattle farmer used to suffer the consequences when the tank was closed.
Agriculture MEC, Nandi Ndalane, who volunteered to vaccinate some of the cattle herself during the campaign, expressed her confidence that the measures that are carried out will help combat FMD and importantly bring to a halt the spread of the disease.
Ndalane lauded communal cattle farmers in Shakadza for joining hands with the department and for their cooperation in bringing their livestock in large numbers to be vaccinated.
However, Ndalane gave a stern warning to farmers against the movement of animals in restricted areas, and said those found moving animals into restricted areas will be prosecuted. She added that the department will continue with the vaccination campaign in the affected areas to stop the spread of the disease.
One of the cattle farmers in Shakadza village, Pandelani Siani was over the moon with the department’s efforts to vaccinate their live stock against Foot and Mouth Disease saying, now they are blocking the further spread of the disease, by vaccinating their animals.
The 41-year-old Siani has 17 cattle and explained that they are also very happy that their dipping tank was revitalised after it was closed for many years.
“We suffered a lot with the dipping tank in our village being closed.
“As rural scale farmers, we don’t have enough money to buy products that can help keep ticks away from our cattle. Life has changed for the better for us in Shakadza and we will be able to bring our cattle for dip every Friday morning from next week.”
