This will certainly have a crippling effect on our economy. Already Botswana is facing serious logistical challenges in meeting the new European Union (EU) beef standards. As a consequence, many farmers will be unable to sell their beef to the lucrative EU market. Cattle breeding in Botswana is usually carried out from free-range areas making it difficult to trace the origin and the inoculation history of the animals as EU demands. The breakout of FMD will only serve to compound the already dire situation.
It is possible that the FMD situation could have been made worse by the absence from duty of foot soldiers at the Department of Animal Health, as some of them might be on strike. This is a situation that can be averted by bringing in security officers like Botswana Police and members of the Botswana Defence Force (BDF). This is one area where the strike could be biting and if not attended to the FMD situation might persist, God forbid, and eventually engulf a wider region. This is an operation that is costly and we trust that the concerned departments will pool their resources to limit the area of concentration. Often restricted cattle movement tends to restrict people's movement as well. Vehicles and people passing through the quarantine gates go through a veterinary search thus leading to more delays and loss of time and business. It is our fervent hope that the Ministry of Agriculture, even with limited personnel will do all within its power to contain the inconvenience.
