Agriculture Minister Willie Aucamp has appointed two industry leaders to the Industry Coordination Council as government ramps up efforts to contain foot-and-mouth disease and roll out millions of vaccine doses nationwide.
Agriculture Minister Willie Aucamp has appointed two prominent agricultural leaders to the Industry Coordination Council (ICC), strengthening South Africa’s efforts to contain and eradicate foot-and-mouth disease (FMD).
The appointments of Dr Theo de Jager, Executive Director of the Southern African Agri Initiative (SAAI), and Dr Danie Odendaal, director of the Veterinarian Network (V-Net), were announced on Friday during the Foot-and-Mouth Disease Symposium held at the Heartfelt Arena in Pretoria.
The ICC is a key industry-government structure established to support the implementation of the National FMD Strategy. The council brings together industry stakeholders to coordinate vaccine distribution, animal traceability and disease-control measures aimed at curbing the spread of the disease.
Announcing the appointments, Aucamp said both leaders would bring valuable expertise to the country’s disease-control efforts.
