Mmegi

Farmers want slice of P97m FMD budget

Mthombeni
Mthombeni

At Jackalas 1 in Zone 6B, the silence around cattle kraals is louder than words. Where livestock once moved freely and small businesses thrived on the back of beef sales, fear, uncertainty and shrinking incomes now dominate. Farmers, vendors and butchery owners here say they feel forgotten, even as government announced a P97 million allocation to respond to the Foot and Mouth Disease outbreak. Mmegi Correspondents LARONA MAKHAIZA and LESEDI MKHUTSWA report

JACKALAS NO. 1: When the Mmegi team descended at the border village this week to hear from the farmers and butchery owners themselves, they had a mouthful to say.

The area has become the epicentre of the country’s latest Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) outbreak, with the suspension of trade, export, slaughter and related activities involving cattle, goats, sheep and pigs across the country.

Editor's Comment
Don't let FMD outbreak drag on

Acting Agriculture Minister, Edwin Dikoloti, is right in saying opening an export-ready facility whilst Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) is still spreading would risk getting the whole country blacklisted before a single carcass leaves the door.A ban like that would break the already stressed nation. So, the postponement, painful as it is, is the right thing to do. The local economy is being squeezed from both ends. FMD has already slammed the door...

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