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Image: courtesy of FF Plus The current foot-and-mouth disease crisis, which has now spread to the Western Cape, requires a sober, coordinated and practical response that balances animal health, farming sustainability and national food security. The Freedom Front Plus (VF Plus) in the Western Cape notes with approval the R100 million allocated by the provincial government for procuring vaccines. While it is unclear whether these funds will be sufficient and available in time,

Image: courtesy of Freedom Front Plus While the Minister of Agriculture, Mr John Steenhuisen, is defending government's exclusive right to procure and administer foot-and-mouth disease vaccines in court, the economic crisis affecting rural communities keeps expanding. Most rural towns are primarily sustained by agriculture. Rural economies consist mainly of input suppliers, businesses that receive and process agricultural products, financial and personal services, and trade.

Image: courtesy of Freedom Front Plus With the foot-and-mouth disease epidemic wreaking havoc on livestock marketing, it is crucial to protect areas that are still free of the disease. This can be achieved by ensuring that infected animals are not transported – something for which the legal framework exists, but the capacity to enforce it is lacking. Foot-and-mouth disease is a viral disease, which means it can only spread via live carriers. So, it is essential to produce doc