Staff Writer
With an estimated N$151 million in livestock sales at risk every week, Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) has become one of the most serious economic threats Namibia has faced in decades.
These figures were revealed during the Bank Windhoek Agricultural Series, held in Windhoek last week under the theme “Protecting Livestock, Preserving Livelihoods: A United Response to Foot-and-Mouth Disease”.
Confirmed in the Karasburg district on 23 September, the outbreak is the first in Namibia’s export zone in more than 60 years.
Namibia Agricultural Union (NAU) President Thinus Pretorius said NAU estimates put value-chain losses at N$13 million a day, or N$2.4 billion over six months, with some 52 000 agricultural jobs south of the Cordon Fence, supporting about 200 000 dependents, on the line.
“The longer the markets stay closed, the more this becomes a question of jobs and households, not just farms,” he said.
The export blow is equally severe, showing 94% of Namibia’s 2025 beef exports went to European markets that require FMD freedom, and access to the EU and Norway has since been suspended.
Pretorius cautioned that FMD-free status is the starting point, not the finish line, as each importing country decides when to buy again.
Alternative markets pay roughly N$113–138 per kilogram, against about N$219 for fresh boneless beef in Europe.
“The NAU’s way forward runs on three tracks at once: keep trade moving at home under strict veterinary supervision, open alternative markets now, and regain FMD freedom without vaccination. Government reopens markets. Industry wins them back,” he said.
As of 27 October, 131 positive samples had been recorded on 18infected farms in //Kharas.
By then, 8 102 of 13 000 cattle had been vaccinated in //Kharas, and 53 913 of 56 360 in the Zambezi Region, where a separate outbreak was confirmed on 6 October.
Controlled direct slaughter has resumed, with 1 344 cattle slaughtered at registered abattoirs, and the ministry of agriculture, fisheries, water and land reform has opened talks with new markets including Tunisia, Morocco and Nigeria.
The Directorate of Veterinary Services’ plan to regain free status, including a new disease control fence construction targeted for November 2026.
“Agriculture is the backbone of rural Namibia, and Foot-and-Mouth Disease is testing how well we stand together as a nation,” said Bank Windhoek’s managing director, James Chapman.
Chapman said the newly released Bid-42 by the Bank of Namibia is welcomed as a timely intervention to support the agriculture sector during this significant period of strain.
Speakers Bank Windhoek Agricultural Series, included Chief Veterinary Officer Dr Kenneth Shoombe; Namibia Agricultural Union (NAU) President Thinus Pretorius; Jako van Wyk, Vice-Chairperson of the Ministerial FMD Task Force Kealeboga Patrick Gaebuse of Botswana’s Charles Hill District; and, virtually from Switzerland, Patrik Buholzer, Co-CEO of SAFOSO.
