Foot-and-mouth threatens beef industry

The Botswana Meat Commission (BMC) says the country could lose millions of dollars in beef earnings following an outbreak of the highly contagious foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), which has forced the closure of the country's two abattoirs. BMC chief executive Motshudi Raborokgwe said the shutdown of the abattoirs in Francistown and Lobatse would seriously affect exports to the European Union and other major markets, and could even threaten the survival of the beef industry. Raborokgwe said the BMC had been forced to recall six containers of beef en route to Europe, Reunion and South Africa. Although he could not give estimates of the possible losses due to foot-and-mouth, Raborokgwe said they would be heavy. The outbreak has come as the BMC has tried to revitalise the beef industry, hard hit by droughts and a series of disease epidemics in recent years. Botswana has been unable to meet its export quotas to the EU because of the shortage of cattle for slaughter, while the BMC has struggled to help farmers restock. The company, which has a monopoly on beef production, has made continuous losses since 2001, and the country's under-capitalised farmers have complained it has been stingy over its buying price and compensation payments. The BMC has also been criticised for failing to support farmer empowerment schemes and the transformation of the beef sector from communal to commercial-style management. The latest FMD outbreak was detected early last week in the Bobonong communal lands on the frontier with Zimbabwe. According to a notice issued by Musa Fanakiso, director of veterinary services, it is concentrated in the southeast of the country, a major beef producing area with an estimated 100,000 cattle. "Until further notice, the movement of all cloven hoofed animals in and out of the specified area is prohibited except in accordance with a permit issued by a veterinary officer," the statement said. The traditional response to foot-and-mouth is quarantine and the destruction of suspected infected herds. Botswana's recent FMD outbreaks have been linked to neighbouring Zimbabwe. A shortage of dipping chemicals there, and the break-up of the large commercial farms and loss of fencing, has allowed the disease to spread. It is endemic among wildlife like buffalo. The current crisis has again been linked to Zimbabwe, which three weeks ago was forced to close its main abattoir while vetinary officers struggle to contain the disease. The outbreak was first reported at a cattle-fattening farm about 30 km northeast of the capital, Harare. Cross-border cattle rustling and unofficial trade between local communities have in the past led to the spread of FMD into Botswana. Police and veterinary officers along the border with Zimbabwe have consistently accused small-scale Tswana butchers of fuelling stock-theft and smuggling, buying stolen Zimbabwean stock at give-away prices. Mining remains the main export earner for Botswana, a middle-income country. Although agriculture - including beef production - accounts for less than three percent of GDP, cattle rearing has enormous social and cultural significance.