PRETORIA - Major changes in how South Africa prevents and deals with outbreaks of plant and animal diseases,  including foot-and-mouth disease, could be on the horizon. These include possible new biosecurity legislation,  criminal prosecution of those who flout regulations and protocols, the introduction of a traceability system, and  increasingly close collaboration among government, industry, academia and civil society. 

These were among the longer-term solutions proposed by Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen at the National  Biosecurity Summit held at the University of Pretoria (UP) in June.  

The event took place against the backdrop of foot-and-mouth disease outbreaks in Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and  Mpumalanga, which agricultural economists predict will cost the economy dearly unless the country responds  proactively, with long-term solutions, rather than reacting when a plant or animal disease breaks out. The broader aim of the summit was to develop a new five-year national biosecurity strategy under the theme ‘Collaborative  actions for food security and trade’.

“Robust biosecurity has to be practised at all times, not just during a threat  or disease outbreak,” said UP Vice-Chancellor and Principal Professor Francis Petersen in his welcome remarks.  

The high-level composition of speakers from industry, academia and the government reflected the importance of  the summit, which was hosted by the National Security Hub, a research partnership between UP, the Department  of Agriculture and the Department of Science, Technology and Innovation. In addition to the Minister of  Agriculture, they included the top leadership of the Agricultural Research Council, Grain SA, Red Meat Industry  Services, the Citrus Growers’ Association and UP, among others. 

“When all of us put our heads together to address problems in the sanitary and phytosanitary field, we have the  potential to address them successfully,” said Dr Marinda Visser, Director of Strategic Projects and Partnerships in  Agriculture at UP’s Innovation Africa.

“Biosecurity is a system that works best when all stakeholders are  communicating with one another.” 

More agile biosecurity legislation and better enforcement 

“Biosecurity is not just about defending against risk but also enabling growth,” Minister Steenhuisen said.  “Strengthening our biosecurity culture in South Africa opens the door to new markets, safeguards jobs and boosts  investor confidence.” 

He was open to introducing more agile legislation in the form of a dedicated biosecurity act with an offence code,  and proposed working with the National Prosecuting Authority, Department of Justice and the South African Police  Service to enforce laws and regulations.  

“Biosecurity protocols are very important, but the laxity of enforcement has often led to people treating them as  optional extras rather than as mandatory,” Minister Steenhuisen said at a media briefing during the summit.  

He also noted that a recent animal auction at Utrecht in KwaZulu-Natal had fuelled the spread of foot-and-mouth  disease.  

“We have taken a decision to pursue criminal charges against those individuals.” 

His department is also going ahead with the introduction of a traceability system to monitor the movement of  animals from “farm to ship”. International markets demanded traceability and South Africa had to move forward  accordingly or risk languishing in the “backwaters of international trade”, he said. 

Emphasising the need for trust, transparency and inclusivity to strengthen biosecurity in the country, Minister  Steenhuisen said it was crucial to work not only with big producers but also subsistence and small-scale farmers,  including those on tribal trust and communal land.  

“It is very important to bring the whole of society along with us.” 

Biosecurity investments can pay off handsomely 

A key statistic he would take away from the summit, Minister Steenhuisen said, was the finding of an Australian  study that for every Australian dollar (AUD) invested in biosecurity in Australia, the return on investment to  agriculture amounted to AU$ 30. This return-on-investment ratio was presented by Australian statistician Dr  Andrew Robinson of the Centre of Excellence for Biosecurity Risk Analysis at the University of Melbourne. 

Dr Robinson, who delivered the keynote address at the summit, made the point that maintaining a consistently  high performance in biosecurity had been financially beneficial to Australian exporters of agricultural products. 

“At least half the time, their products come straight off the boat, straight into the warehouses, with no messing  around in port and no messing around waiting for an inspector to become available. That’s an incentive.  Biosecurity is worth money to them.” 

Closer to home, Wandile Sihlobo, chief economist of the Agricultural Business Chamber of South Africa, said  biosecurity “is the bedrock of anything we do in agriculture because we export about half of what we produce in  this country”.  

He noted that the agricultural sector brings in R250 billion a year from exports, has R220 billion invested in bank  loans and employs about 1.3 million people.  

“Those are the jobs that would be at risk if exports come under pressure.” 

Domestic consumption cannot make up for export shortfalls 

Sihlobo cautioned that in the current international trading environment, “everyone is looking for anything to block  your products from entering their country”. Biosecurity lapses could reinforce that trend, even for product lines  not directly affected by a disease outbreak.  

“Non-tariff barriers will be the talk of the day in the next couple of years, and if you are a country that is  consistently in the news about outbreaks, they will make things difficult for you,” Sihlobo said. 

It is also unlikely that domestic consumption can expand to compensate for any drop-off in exports of high-end  products such as wine, grapes and red meat, he added.  

“Domestic consumption levels are as good as they are going to get,” Sihlobo said, adding that it would be wrong  to underestimate “how badly the South African consumer is hurting”. 

Biosafety must therefore be front and centre of agricultural policy and practice, not just for animal health but  plant health, too.  

“Plant health is a risk area, and not a lot is happening there,” he said. “Animal health gets a lot of media attention,  but plant health is also critical.” 

Persuading newly graduated vets to stay in SA  

Other biosecurity challenges raised at the summit were anti-microbial resistance to antibiotics, the rampant weed  problem in crop production and the shortage of veterinary professionals, especially across rural areas. Minister  Steenhuisen pointed out that there are 400 vets in the country and only 70 in the public system.  

Prof Vinny Naidoo, Dean of the Faculty of Veterinary Science at UP, said the University had the biggest pool of  veterinary students in South Africa and had graduated 170 vets in 2024.  

“The problem is that vets are leaving the country,” he said, adding that a solution could be to create opportunities  for students in the agricultural value chain, including getting them onto big farms and involving them in vaccine  development.  

“That’s where we are not succeeding,” Prof Naidoo said, highlighting the necessity for partnerships with industry,  which are limited at this point.