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The Democratic Alliance (DA) welcomes the decision by the National Treasury to exempt the Department of Agriculture from certain provisions of the Public Finance Management Act, enabling the swift reallocation of funds to combat the ongoing outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD).

This exemption empowers Minister John Steenhuisen to redirect funding from programmes such as economic development, trade and marketing toward critical areas, including agricultural production, biosecurity, and natural resource management. This targeted reprioritisation is a necessary and timely intervention to contain the spread of FMD and protect South Africa’s agricultural sector.

Importantly, the government will cover the full cost of vaccinating the national herd against FMD. Farmers will not bear any financial burden for vaccines administered as part of the national response. This support is vital to ensuring widespread compliance and rapid immunisation, particularly for emerging and small-scale farmers who are most vulnerable to the economic impact of disease outbreaks.

The DA believes that decisive action, coupled with proper resource allocation, is essential to safeguarding food security, protecting livelihoods, and maintaining South Africa’s agricultural export standards.

Issued by Desiree van der Walt MP - DA Member on the Portfolio Committee on Agriculture