The new FMD lab, due to be commissioned next Friday, will be capable of producing about 24 million doses of FMD vaccine annually, twice the current capacity. More importantly for beef exports, the new lab will produce purified vaccines which will enable farmers to distinguish between FMD-vaccinated and -infected animals after a round of vaccinations.
As part of its FMD control, government has previously culled cattle within a breakout zone, as the vaccines employed did not allow veterinarians to distinguish between vaccinated and infected animals. As a result, the EU does not accept beef exports from FMD-vaccinated areas, a policy that has hurt Botswana's beef industry in recent years. Culling and restocking has therefore been used to comprehensively stamp out FMD outbreaks and satisfy the EU's stringent import criteria. However, this option is unpopular with farmers as levels of compensation are contentious; the option also leads to food security issues as most farmers prefer cash compensation rather than restocking, which could be prone to future FMD outbreaks. On Wednesday, BVI General Manager, Onkabetse Matlho said the new lab -- the first of its kind in Africa -- would enhance the country's competitiveness in EU beef exports. Botswana is the BVI's main market for FMD vaccines, followed by Zambia, Zimbabwe and Mozambique.
"We are vaccinating the red zone in Ngamiland but the meat cannot be sold to the EU. With the new vaccine, we can go in and vaccinate all the animals and be able to test and see which ones are sick," he said.
