Safeguarding Namibia’s Lucrative Livestock Sector
Namibia’s lucrative livestock sector is an important industry for the country as it remains a major source of income and livelihood within the broader agriculture economy with the export of live animals (mostly cattle and sheep) historically contributing to about two-thirds of agricultural exports by value.
However, the livestock sector faces a myriad of challenges, most especially the constant outbreak of animal diseases such as FMD, contagious bovine pleuropneumonia (CBPP) (also known as lung plague), lumpy skin disease, anthrax, and Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) which pose a major threat to Namibia’s livestock sector.
An outbreak of diseases such as FMD and CBPP, that mainly occur in the northern parts of the country just above the veterinary cordon fence (VCF) which is commonly referred to as the “Red Line”, can negatively impact the country’s livestock production, productivity and access to export markets and, thereby, affect and undermine local food security and livelihoods.
Fighting diseases
Ensuring that the country’s Directorate of Veterinary Services (DVS) is well capacitated to detect and contain outbreaks of such animal diseases is critical to the sector’s ability to continue contributing positively to Namibia’s economy. This capacity also gives confidence to the country’s key trade partners and customers who have been importing beef from the country for years.
As a key development partner in helping the country to safeguard and uplift its agriculture sector, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has been providing capacitive support to the division of Diagnostic Services and Research housed within DVS’ Central Veterinary Laboratory (CVL) through the European Union (EU) funded project “Support Towards the Operationalisation of the SADC Regional Agricultural Policy (STOSAR)”.
Through the STOSAR project, FAO has been providing diagnostic materials to strengthen DVS’ capacity to detect and control animal diseases such as Peste des petits ruminants, Avian influenza and Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) by availing laboratory testing materials such as real-time PCR detection kits for Avian Influenza, Nucleic acid purification kits, Phosphate Buffered Saline tablets, reaction plates and tubes.
“Thanks to support from the STOSAR project, the Central Veterinary Laboratory was in a better position to safeguard Namibia’s livestock sector,” said Dr. Siegfried Khaiseb, Deputy Chief Veterinary Officer in DVS. “The [diagnostic] materials have strengthened our preparedness and readiness for early detection of diseases such as FMD, which enabled us to minimise its spread and avert its potentially catastrophic impact on the country’s economy.”
Maintaining trade
Dr. Khaiseb highlighted that the CVL is using the donated laboratory items for routine testing to enable the effective surveillance of FMD. “The ongoing [FMD] surveillance activities are important to safeguard the livestock sector in Namibia and maintain the country’s FMD free status to ensure continued trade relations with its trading partners, especially for livestock and livestock products,” he noted.
Namibia exports large amounts of beef to large markets such as the United States, Europe, South Africa, and China. The country became only the second African country after South Africa to export its beef to China and the first African country to export its well respected free-range and hormone-free beef to the highly lucrative U.S market.
Apart from the international market, regionally the country has strong trade relations with neighbouring South Africa. In 2020 for example, Namibia exported 96% (44 103 heads of livestock) of its total live animal exports in May of that year to South Africa, with the rest going to Angola. South Africa is not only taking up Namibia’s live animals but is also the biggest export destination for the country’s beef, followed by Norway.
Unlocking potential
Due to the importance of meat and meat products, particularly the export of beef, to Namibia’s export earnings, ensuring that meat is disease-free is crucial to meet international food safety standards. Implementing appropriate, adequate and effective measures to prevent, control and manage disease outbreaks is therefore essential, not only to ensure farmers’ incomes and thus food security and livelihoods, but also to ensure public health so that zoonotic diseases are not transferred between wildlife and livestock and then to humans.
The STOSAR project is playing a critical role in ensuring that countries such as Namibia, which enjoy access to lucrative export markets for meat, continues to unlock the full potential of its livestock sector.