In a move to streamline the country’s defense against Foot and mouth disease (FMD), the Minister of Agriculture, Willie Aucamp, has officially launched the self-vaccination application portal for livestock owners.

This live system hands crucial control to farmers, allowing them to apply for official authorisation to vaccinate their own animals and curb potential FMD outbreaks faster than before.

“The launch of this system means that the owners and managers of cattle will be able to perform voluntary vaccination of their livestock against FMD,” said Minister Aucamp. “This step is only the beginning and I can assure all stakeholders that the Department of Agriculture is committed to enabling the private sector to help tackle this FMD outbreak.”

Livestock owners can now register on the FMD Reporting site and each of the required steps are outlined in the step-by-step guidelines. The system was designed in line with biosecurity requirements and legal prescripts and conditions, including traceability and reporting on vaccinations that were applied.

The process is divided into three parts:

1. Application to be an “Authorised Person”

– Owners and managers of livestock can apply on the FMD Reporting system to be approved as an “Authorised Person” to administer the FMD vaccination in terms of the act.

2. Notice of Intention to Vaccinate

– Once they are approved as an “Authorised Person”, they will be required to give notice of their intention to vaccinate, to the Provincial Director: Veterinary Services or the applicable State Veterinarian for the area concerned.
– This notification needs to be done at least 5 (five) days prior to administering the vaccine and it can be done either via the online system, or in writing.
– After the authorised persons have given notice of their intention to vaccinate, they will be able to procure the required vaccines directly from their authorised veterinarian in their area.

3. Submit a Vaccination Report

– Within 14 (fourteen) days after administering the vaccine, the authorised person must provide the local state veterinarian with the required feedback (as per the online feedback system) on the vaccines that they have administered. This feedback report will include various detail of the animals vaccinated as well as the vaccine used and the location of the farm where the vaccine was administered. This feedback can be done either via the online system, or in writing.

Livestock owners and managers also have the option to use any of the approved online systems provided by private sector stakeholders such as the platforms provided by RMIS, SAAI and Buffalo Analytics.

It should be noted that all the information received from any third-party system will be shared with the Department of Agriculture (DoA) and uploaded on its system. The onus is on the livestock owners and managers to check if their chosen system has been approved for use by the Director of Animal Health.

“All the information gathered through these report back systems will enable government to monitor progress of the vaccination programme,” said Minister Aucamp. “It will also enable us to efficiently provide up-to-date information on the success of South Africa’s vaccination programme to the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) when we are in a position to apply to WOAH for FMD-Free status with vaccination once again.”

Minister Aucamp has reiterated that the department is dedicated to continue strengthening relations with the sector and that he will chart a unified way of working which welcomes support and collaboration from all stakeholders.

Furhermore, all organised agricultural organisations are encouraged to liaise with approved vaccine importers, on behalf of their members, on the number of vaccines required by their members. This will assist the importers in determining the number of vaccines that they need to procure and distribute to veterinarians all over the country. Vaccine importers are also encouraged to liaise with veterinarians on the number of vaccines that the veterinarians want to order for their clients in a specific area.

The cost of the vaccines purchased in this voluntary vaccination rollout will be for the account of the farmers that do the voluntary vaccination of their cloven-hooved animals. Government will continue to provide vaccines to all areas where new outbreaks of FMD have been reported, as well as to those farmers that cannot afford to pay for the vaccines themselves.

“I want to thank all farmers, organised agriculture organisations as well as the Department of Agriculture officials, who have worked tirelessly to get these systems up and running shortly after reaching the settlement,” Minister Aucamp said.

For general queries and questions regarding the FMD Reporting system, please contact: Dr Rachel Welsh – 012-319-7460 || RachelW@nda.gov.za