The FMD crisis in South Africa began gaining serious momentum in April 2025, mainly with the SAT2 serotype and some SAT1 and SAT3 cases. New outbreaks appeared in KwaZulu-Natal, linked to an auction in the Utrecht area in February 2025, with cases reported in Newcastle and Bergville. The first outbreak in Gauteng was confirmed in April at Magagula Heights in the West Rand, while Mpumalanga also recorded cases in the Gert Sibande area, connected to the KwaZulu-Natal strain.
By the end of April 2025, several provinces had active outbreaks, while others such as the Free State, North West, and Eastern Cape were still managing earlier ones. The government declared Disease Management Areas in high-risk zones, introduced movement controls, quarantines, and increased surveillance. This marked the start of a wider national crisis that eventually spread across nearly all provinces and led to a national disaster declaration in early 2026.At that early stage in April 2025, the large-scale national vaccination campaign had not yet fully started (the major rollout began around February 2026). Farmers expressed strong frustration over delays in vaccine supply and distribution, especially in newly affected areas. Many, including producers in the Eastern Cape, called for urgent vaccine availability to prevent further losses.
Small-scale and communal farmers complained that vaccines were difficult to access, with limited supplies and inconvenient distribution points. Producers urged the Department of Agriculture to speed up delivery, warning that every delay meant more animals getting infected and bigger financial hits. Some also highlighted that weak movement controls and ongoing auctions were still spreading the disease and called for stronger biosecurity enforcement alongside vaccination. As the campaign later intensified, additional issues arose around payment responsibilities, ear tags, record-keeping, and coordination between government levels.
The economic cost of the outbreak has been severe for South African farmers. Many face huge extra expenses just to contain the disease. One dairy farmer in KwaZulu-Natal, for example, spent an additional R1 million in a single season on biosecurity, veterinary products, and other measures, using up three years’ worth of supplies in one month. Milk production often drops sharply — one farm saw daily output fall from 26,000 litres to 23,000 litres. In beef farming, losses include large numbers of dead calves; one Free State farmer lost over 2,250 calves worth about R2.8 million due to secondary infections. Some dairy operations have reported total losses of R6 million to R8 million per farm.
On a bigger scale, the Bureau for Food and Agricultural Policy (BFAP) estimates that dairy sector losses have already reached around R1 billion, affecting more than 210,000 cattle across over 90 farms. For the beef sector, losses in gross production value could range from R3.2 billion (medium scenario) to R11.3 billion (high scenario) between 2025 and 2030, driven by lower production, fewer weaners, calf deaths, and movement restrictions. Beef exports fell 26% in 2025, with cumulative export revenue losses from FMD waves (2019–2025) already exceeding R821 million — a figure that could rise to R2.6 billion by the end of 2026.
If the outbreak continues without strong control, total losses to beef and dairy over the next decade could reach as much as R25.6 billion. The government covers the cost of vaccines in priority areas, but farmers still pay for veterinary fees, extra biosecurity, labour, and other on-farm measures. Private vaccination can cost between R45 and R80 per animal.Movement bans and quarantines have collapsed local markets for many farmers, making it difficult to sell animals or products. The disease has also damaged South Africa’s reputation as a reliable livestock exporter, affecting long-term trade opportunities.
While consumers have not yet faced massive price increases on meat and milk, farmers are carrying most of the burden through lower income, reduced production, and higher costs. Many describe the financial pressure as unsustainable, especially for smaller operations.The situation remains serious in April 2026, with ongoing challenges on both sides of the South Africa-Botswana border, where a recent FMD outbreak at Botswana’s elite Ramatlabama breeding centre (valued at hundreds of millions of rands) is only about 5 km from South African cases and has led to export bans and strict controls in Botswana.
Our team is travelling around the country on a monthly basis. We see and hear things first-hand at ground level, and in many cases the situation is not as good as some of the media is reporting from their offices.
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