The foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) support fund was officially launched at the agriculture ministry in Windhoek on Thursday, with industry players pledging N$11 million during the launch.
The fund is a coordinated effort between the four national farmers’ unions and the Directorate of Veterinary Services to protect against a potential outbreak of the disease.
“This idea was already created late last year, the idea of a FMD support fund to coordinate an awareness-raising, prevention and response-preparedness plan to support the Directorate of Veterinary Services and our government in preparing for any possible risk,” fund chairperson Ingrid Henckert-Weissnar said during the launch.
The fund will be used to finance awareness programmes, farmer training and rapid responses should an outbreak occur.
Henckert-Weissnar said the fund is intended to complement the work of the ministry of agriculture. The fund aims to raise N$50 million in its first phase.
The ministry had previously announced that the government had made N$57 million available to manage the risk of an FMD outbreak in Namibia.
The entities that pledged financial support include Bank Windhoek, First National Bank, Agrimark, Agra, Namib Mills, Feedmaster and the Namibia Agriculture Union.
An FMD task force was officially launched at the event, which will be made up of 25 members from across the government, farmers’ unions, export abattoirs and universities.
“The task force is established due to the threat of foot-and-mouth disease from neighbouring countries and operates within the framework of the national FMD contingency plan. It serves as a high-level advisory and coordination platform,” chief veterinary officer Kenneth Shoombe says.
Namibia is currently still free of the disease.
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