The foot-and-mouth disease presently affecting Namibia since September 2026 brings me back to wondering why we do not do more advance planning in Namibia.
I was the Botswana Export Development and Investment Authority (BEDIA) representative during the early 2000s and remember visiting the country by road and being surprised by the strict controls at the border, which included checks for meat products and having all visitors wash their feet or shoes before entering the country. Being my usual curious self, I asked why and was told it was to manage foot-and-mouth disease from entering the country.
This seemed "funny" as we did not have foot-and-mouth disease in Namibia until I was reminded that this was only the case south of the Red Line. As I was entering via the then Caprivi region, it was a necessary precaution.
On the drive to Gaborone, I noticed that, in general, there were very few fences demarcating farms and keeping animals within boundaries, which I thought was how we in Namibia managed the disease. Contrary to my assumption, I was told that Botswana actually uses one of the most extensive networks of veterinary fences in the world. However, I was told there is a distinct difference between the national veterinary cordon fences run by the government and the lack of individual farm fences in communal cattle-rearing areas.
In the years since, I also came to understand the growing debate over fences, as conservationists and some agricultural experts have pushed to move away from geographic fencing. Fences have severely disrupted wildlife migrations, leading to steep population declines in species like wildebeest and zebras that get cut off from water sources.
I brought up the issue of the border controls, and the lack of fences with BEDIA management, and they arranged for me to tour the vaccine production plant run by the Botswana Vaccine Institute (BVI) in Gaborone. The institute was set up back in 1978 as a state-owned enterprise, but it operates on a self-funding business model. What struck me during the tour was that they were not just producing foot-and-mouth vaccines for their own cattle farmers; they were effectively serving as the regional production hub for the whole SADC region.
During this visit, Botswana officials indicated a clear willingness to partner with Namibia in establishing such a plant in locally.
Unfortunately, when I brought up the topic with various role players in Namibia, they assured me we did not need such a plant. Fast forward to 2026 and we now have foot-and-mouth disease, and it is having a devastating effect on our economy.
Why do we not accept help from others and always seem to think we know best?
