Farmers cheer Steenhuisen's exit from agriculture

Farmers have welcomed the DA's decision to move John Steenhuisen out of the agriculture ministry, with farming organisations blaming his handling of the devastating foot-and-mouth disease outbreak for mounting losses across the sector.

giovedì 18 giugno 2026 New tab

773 words~4 min read

Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen inspects the arrival of one million Biogenesis Bagó foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) vaccine doses from Argentina at the cargo terminal of OR Tambo International Airport in February.

The announcement that John Steenhuisen will no longer serve as minister of agriculture has farmers applauding.

Geordin Hill-Lewis, the DA leader, has demoted Steenhuisen to deputy minister of trade, industry, and competition.

Willie Aucamp will now take over agriculture.

Aucamp, until now the forestry, fisheries, and environment minister, is a farmer himself and has served as a DA MP since 2024.