The agreement follows negotiations between the Department of Agriculture and applicants in the legal matter, including Sakeliga, the South African Agri Initiative (SAAI) and Free State Agriculture.
A key outcome is that owners and managers of cloven-hoofed livestock will be permitted to voluntarily vaccinate their animals against FMD, subject to biosecurity measures, legal requirements, traceability and reporting.
The Department of Agriculture and Onderstepoort Biological Products (OBP) have also relinquished their exclusive rights to import and distribute FMD vaccines, opening the way for greater private-sector participation.
"Today’s settlement is not only a win for the parties involved in the case but is a win for all South African farmers as this sector contributes significantly to the country’s job creation efforts and GDP," said Agriculture Minister Willie Aucamp.
"This settlement is indicative of government’s willingness to work with the private sector, as government cannot do this alone; as such, we will continue to hold hands with all industry and private sector role players in the control of the FMD Outbreak."
"We now need to enable the private sector to import at scale, and it is for this reason that the Department and Onderstepoort Biological Products (OBP) have expressly relinquished sole rights to the import and/or distribution of FMD vaccines."
The applicant organisations welcomed the settlement and committed to continuing to work with the department to address the outbreak.
The agreement follows criticism from livestock producers who argued that government's response to the outbreak had been too slow to keep pace with the spread of the disease. The settlement brings an end to legal proceedings brought by Sakeliga, SAAI and Free State Agriculture after the parties agreed on a revised approach to vaccine access.
Government has previously controlled the import of FMD vaccines and the vaccination of livestock. It has also committed to vaccinating 80% of the national cattle herd, estimated at 14 million animals.
Separately, Beefmaster Group said the publication of the revised Section 9 FMD regulations provides greater certainty for the beef industry.
According to Beefmaster Group supply chain executive Roelie van Reenen, the new framework allows producers to vaccinate animals without automatically losing market access, while also removing certain slaughter requirements that industry research found added costs without significantly improving disease control.
Aucamp thanked all parties involved in the negotiations and said the settlement marked an important first step. He said the priority now would be the efficient rollout of the agreed measures.
