National Treasury director-general Duncan Pieterse said government is not immediately turning to new funding allocations but is instead reprioritising existing resources within the agriculture portfolio.
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National Treasury has moved to redirect about R400 million in underspent agricultural funds to combat the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) as questions mount over whether additional emergency funding will be required following its declaration as a National State of Disaster.
Responding to queries about potential special appropriations on Wednesday, National Treasury director-general Duncan Pieterse said government is not immediately turning to new funding allocations but is instead reprioritising existing resources within the agriculture portfolio.
“In terms of foot-and-mouth disease, there has been some underspending within agriculture in the current year in some of the grants,” Pieterse said. “So we are working with them to redirect that towards foot-and-mouth. That’s up to the value of about R400 million.”
He explained that the redirected funds are expected to provide sufficient financial support to manage the outbreak through to the end of the current financial year.
“That will give them enough runway to get towards the end of the year to deal with foot-and-mouth,” he said.
In his Budget Speech, Finance Minister named FMD among three crucial challenges, including persistent logistics bottlenecks and weak public infrastructure, that continue to weigh on economic activity and pose risks to the outlook.
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The outbreak has dealt a significant blow to South Africa’s livestock industry, disrupting trade, affecting red meat exports and placing pressure on farmers already grappling with rising input costs and biosecurity risks.
The declaration of a national state of disaster underscored the seriousness of the outbreak and raised expectations that additional fiscal support might be forthcoming.
However, Pieterse’s comments suggest that, for now, Treasury is relying on internal reprioritisation rather than new emergency appropriations.
Beyond immediate containment efforts, government is also looking to strengthen longer-term resilience. Pieterse said discussions are underway regarding capital investment in vaccine production capacity to ensure improved preparedness in future outbreaks.
“Beyond that, we are talking today with capital investment in the on-the-support facility so that we have vaccine production capabilities going forward,” he said.
The reference signals renewed focus on boosting domestic vaccine manufacturing infrastructure, a move aimed at reducing reliance on imports and ensuring quicker response times in the face of animal disease outbreaks.
Minister of Agriculture John Steenhuisen over the weekend took delivery of the first batch of 1 million Biogénesis Bagó FMD vaccines from Argentina.
This is thought to be the beginning of a comprehensive strategy to secure South Africa as an FMD-free zone, an achievement that will expand trade, stabilise rural economies, and bring renewed hope to affected farming communities.
Steenhuisen will officially kickstart the nationwide mass vaccination rollout against FMD on Friday in KwaZulu-Natal.
Foot-and-mouth disease is a highly contagious viral infection that affects cloven-hoofed animals such as cattle, sheep and pigs. While it does not typically pose a direct threat to human health, outbreaks can have severe economic consequences due to trade restrictions and livestock losses.
South Africa has in recent years faced intermittent FMD flare-ups, which have at times led to temporary bans on exports to key international markets. Industry bodies have repeatedly called for improved surveillance, biosecurity enforcement and vaccine availability to prevent recurring disruptions.
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