WINDHOEK, Feb. 12– Namibia requires about 1.5 billion Namibian dollars (about 94 million U.S. dollars) in additional funding to safeguard its livestock sector valued at around 15 billion Namibian dollars, amid heightened regional risks of the foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), a senior official said on Tuesday.
Speaking in the National Assembly, Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Land Reform Inge Zaamwani said the funding would be required over and above the 57.5 million Namibian dollars already approved by the Cabinet to strengthen prevention and preparedness measures.
“With the recent outbreak in the Northern Cape, only about 400 km from our border, the risk to Namibia has increased significantly and is moving closer,” the minister said, adding that safeguarding the country’s FMD-free status is a national priority to protect jobs, revenue and food security.
Namibia currently maintains its internationally recognized FMD-free status under the World Organization for Animal Health, a designation critical for sustaining beef exports and access to premium international markets.
Zaamwani said the southern African country has implemented a series of preventative measures, including suspending and strictly controlling imports of cloven-hoofed animals and related products from affected areas, deploying additional veterinary personnel at border posts, intensifying vehicle inspections and enhancing public awareness campaigns.
The country also plans to increase border patrols, conduct monthly surveillance at border farms, establish disease control and buffer zones beginning in at risk regions close to the borders and create a national FMD vaccine storage facility to ensure rapid response in the event of an outbreak, she said.
According to Zaamwani, the proposed 1.5 billion Namibian dollars investment would fund expanded border patrols, construction of disinfection and incineration facilities at border posts, re-zoning of FMD-free areas into smaller compartments and upgrades to meat-processing plants to help preserve trade flows even if outbreaks occur.
Namibia exports beef to a range of international markets, with the European Union consistently the largest destination, and significant exports also going to South Africa, Britain and Norway. (Namibia Daily News / Xinhua)
