Merel van der Lei | CEO | Wyzetalk | mail me |
South Africa is currently walking a high-stakes tightrope. As we enter February 2026, the agricultural sector faces a perfect storm. Domestic animal health emergencies and international trade politics have become inextricably linked.
On one side, the Department of Agriculture has launched an ambitious 10-year strategy to combat Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD). This strategy represents an R80 billion battle for the survival of our national herd. On the other side, uncertainty still looms over South Africa’s eligibility for the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) after 2026, despite US President Donald Trump’s recent renewal. This convergence of FMD and AGOA places unprecedented pressure on the sector.
Interdependent pillars of the agricultural trade strategy
While these two challenges often dominate separate headlines, they represent two sides of the same coin. AGOA may be the “ticket” that makes exports financially viable through duty-free access. However, FMD-free status serves as the “passport” that allows those goods to cross the border. In practice, FMD and AGOA function as interdependent pillars of South Africa’s agricultural trade strategy.
Having the ticket without the passport is useless. We cannot trade if health authorities ban our goods on biosecurity grounds. Conversely, regaining FMD-free status means little if South Africa loses AGOA access and faces tariffs that price exports out of global markets. To survive, the sector must win on both fronts simultaneously. The interplay between FMD and AGOA, therefore, defines the sector’s near-term survival.
While the “stabilisation” phase of the national FMD plan is underway with a mass vaccination rollout, a critical vulnerability remains. No amount of imported vaccine can fix the “credibility gap” on the ground. To convince global trade partners that our biosecurity is robust, South Africa must prove it can sustain compliance among livestock managers on farms. These individuals manage livestock daily and determine real-world biosecurity outcomes.
The high cost of the credibility gap
The USA remains one of South Africa’s most vital trade partners, with two-way flows totalling $21.6 billion in 2024. Economists warn that exclusion from AGOA after 2026 could significantly increase tariffs on agricultural exports. This shift would damage the competitiveness of South Africa’s beef, citrus and wine industries.
Global trade relies on trust, and biosecurity acts as a key currency of that trust. To reopen lucrative markets such as China, which suspended beef imports in 2025, South Africa must demonstrate more than policy intent. The country must prioritise operational excellence. This goal remains unattainable if the farm workforce remains disconnected from the digital systems designed to protect livestock and trade.
Vaccination is not a “silver bullet”. It is a tool. The real work of biosecurity happens daily in the paddock through strict hygiene and movement protocols. Thousands of farm workers carry out these tasks in a climate of intense worry and uncertainty.
Job security and the misinformation vacuum
Agriculture is a labour-intensive sector and employs approximately 5% of South Africa’s workforce. For these employees, FMD now threatens their livelihoods as well as animal health.
When an outbreak leads to a farm closure or herd culling, the fallout for low-skilled labourers is catastrophic. The ostrich industry demonstrated this risk during the 2011 bird flu crisis, when thousands of workers lost their jobs as production collapsed. This climate of fear creates fertile ground for misinformation.
Experience across high-risk sectors shows that when management fails to reach the workforce with authoritative, empathetic and clear messaging, rumours fill the void. During recent global bird flu outbreaks, harmful conspiracy theories flourished. Some employees believed the virus was “fake news” or a “bioweapon” designed to drive up food prices.
When a worker believes a disease is a hoax or fears job loss, they are far less likely to follow rigorous biosecurity protocols. Biosecurity is, therefore, to a significant degree, a behavioural challenge.
Digital inclusion as a trade enabler
The national recovery plan relies on an enhanced digital livestock identification and traceability system (LITS) and real-time heat-mapping of outbreaks. For this data to remain accurate, people on the ground must feed it continuously. Digital divides, therefore, pose serious and systemic risks.
If farm workers lack tools or digital literacy to report symptoms or verify livestock movement in real time, biosecurity data becomes a lagging indicator. It then reports what happened weeks ago instead of what is happening now.
From instruction to engagement
Effective crisis management requires transforming the workforce from passive recipients of instructions into active participants in solutions.
This transformation requires the following measures:
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Two-way feedback loops
Provide employees with digital channels to report suspected symptoms or biosecurity breaches immediately. Examples include broken fences or unauthorised animal movement.
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Multilingual micro-learning
Deliver bite-sized training in vernacular languages on vaccination protocols and hygiene. Replace technical jargon with lay language.
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Leadership visibility
Use mobile video and audio to provide reassurance from leadership. Address job security concerns and debunk rumours before they escalate into non-compliance.
The human factor of recovery
As the vaccine rollout continues, the success of the stabilisation phase depends on millions of daily decisions made by South Africa’s agricultural employees.
To protect the R80 billion livestock industry and restore global standing, South Africa must bridge the digital gap between the boardroom and the fields. By connecting the disconnected, the sector can turn its most vulnerable asset, the people, into its most resilient line of defence.
The road to FMD-free status is long. However, it is a road the sector must walk together as a combined workforce.
