By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Sakeliga, SAAI, and Free State Agriculture have filed an urgent court application to interdict the government’s obstruction of private-sector procurement and administration of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) vaccines.
The matter will be heard in the Pretoria High Court on an urgent basis, set down for Tuesday, 24 March 2026.
The court application follows the failure by the Minister of Agriculture, John Steenhuisen, to provide a lawful basis for his prohibition on private-sector vaccine procurement and administration, and the detrimental interference by agriculture officials in private vaccine import agreements.
The FMD outbreak started in April 2025 and has since spread to all nine provinces in South Africa, with farmers across the country battling the highly contagious disease.
So far, the government has responded through export-certification requirements and restricting the movement of animals.
Steenhuisen and the Department of Agriculture have also introduced a multi-pronged approach to securing the vaccines needed to treat the national herd.
As the government currently lacks the capacity to produce all of the vaccines it needs, with vaccine manufacturing capacity at Onderstepoort gutted over the past few years, it has relied heavily on imports from countries like Argentina, Turkey, and Botswana.
In addition, South Africa – for the first time in over two decades – resumed local FMD vaccine production at Onderstepoort, though it will take some time to scale manufacturing to the levels required to ensure long-term self-reliance.
However, despite these efforts, Steenhuisen has found himself under severe scrutiny from South African farmers and other industry stakeholders for his handling of the crisis.
Steenhuisen has also been severely criticised for his insistence on state control over all aspects of FMD vaccination.
A coalition comprising Sakeliga, SAAI, and Free State Agriculture argues the Minister’s insistence on state control of all aspects of FMD vaccination, in contrast to the common practice of private procurement and administration of livestock vaccination for other diseases, has caused widespread distress and significant production losses across the agricultural sector.
The coalition applied for further or alternative relief as applicable, claiming there was no legal basis for Steenhuisen’s ban.
“Notably, nothing in our application would obstruct the minister or other officials from carrying out their lawful duties and efforts at combating foot-and-mouth disease,” they claimed.
Meanwhile the Western Cape’s coordinated Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) response plan has been further bolstered with the arrival of 8,000 more vaccine doses in the province.
This will supplement the 100,000 doses the province received last week, bringing the total number to 170,400 doses received so far.
“More than 121,000 vaccination doses have been administered across 438 vaccination sites, with the support of 29 private vets. These herculean efforts to contain and eradicate FMD are proceeding well,” said Premier Alan Winde during a weekly meeting of Western Cape Government officials, district Mayors and agricultural stakeholders to ensure they meet their 21-response plan.