Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen witnessing the finalisation of South Africa’s first locally-produced foot-and-mouth disease vaccines in 21 years
South Africa’s first locally-produced foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) vaccines in 21 years were formally handed over at the Onderstepoort Veterinary Research facility of the Agricultural Research Council (ARC) on Friday.
The initial batch of 12 900 doses – produced at pilot scale using modern bioreactor technology – will be distributed across six provinces, with the Eastern Cape and Free State receiving the largest allocations.
Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen, on site to witness the finalisation of the doses, framed the breakthrough as a “shift from reactive disease control to a proactive, science-led campaign” to reclaim South Africa’s FMD-free status — lost in 2019 — with the World Organisation for Animal Health.
From March, the ARC is expected to produce 20 000 doses per week, scaling up to 200 000 weekly doses from 2027, while imported vaccines from Botswana, Argentina and Turkey are intended to bridge the gap during the rollout.
Steenhuisen paired the technical announcement with an emotive appeal to farmers, acknowledging the “severe emotional and financial toll” caused by repeated outbreaks, movement restrictions and lost livelihoods.
“To our farmers who have watched their livelihoods disappear before their eyes, I hear you,” he said, promising that the government would “stop at nothing” to eradicate the disease and urging producers not to lose faith as a 10-year strategy moves “from defence to offence”.
Central to that plan, the agriculture department argued, is a tightly controlled, state-led vaccination programme – a requirement to prove at least 12 months of zero virus transmission and protect export markets.
The department pushed back against criticism of the government’s vaccine strategy, stressing that Steenhuisen and the department do not oppose the use of designated private agents to import vaccines – such as Design Biologix for Argentina’s Biogénesis Bagó and Dunevax for Turkey’s Dollvet – but rejects calls for a “vaccine free-for-all”.
Such proposals, it said, are “short-sighted and reckless” and risk undermining biosecurity, citing the dangers posed by illegally imported vaccines already detected in KwaZulu-Natal.
The department insisted that private veterinarians, industry bodies and agricultural organisations have been consulted throughout, from the initial FMD Lekgotla to the establishment of a ministerial task team and industry coordination council. “The priority is the consistent arrival of vaccines, not the specific procurement channel.”
That defence, however, has done little to quell growing resistance from parts of the farming and business community.
Sakeliga, which is part of a group threatening imminent legal action, has accused the minister of refusing to clearly state the legal basis for restricting private vaccine procurement and distribution, arguing that the department’s stance may be unlawful and economically damaging.
Farmers have also warned that the newly-unveiled 10-year FMD plan risks repeating past failures if governance weaknesses, compensation delays and limited state capacity are not addressed alongside vaccination.
The department, meanwhile, maintains that without centralised monitoring and state-led control over the vaccination process, the country will fail to achieve its goal of FMD-free status, causing long term damage to agricultural exports and negating the entire vaccination strategy.
South Africa ceased local production of FMD vaccines in 2005 because of ageing technology and infrastructure that was non-compliant with international good manufacturing practice standards.
The ARC’s breakthrough involved identifying circulating regional strains and ensuring the vaccines provide high potency, long-lasting immunity that meets strict international biosafety standards, the agriculture ministry said.
This was an intensive process that required compliance with strict biosafety and biosecurity, safety, and good manufacturing practices, as well as regulatory compliance in terms of the Fertilisers, Farm Feeds, Agricultural Remedies and Stock Remedies Act, 1947.
The initial distribution of this batch will see the Eastern Cape receive 2 600 doses, Free State 2 300 doses, North West 2 000 doses, Gauteng 2 000 doses, Limpopo 2 000 doses and Mpumalanga 2 000 doses.
From March 2026, the ARC will be able to supply 20 000 doses per week of its monovalent SAT1, SAT 2, or SAT 3 vaccine and subsequently 200 000 monovalent doses per week from 2027.
The agriculture department said it has now finalised a memorandum to declare a national state of disaster, which will be tabled soon in Cabinet. This will unlock emergency funding for mass vaccination across affected provinces.
Discussion about this post