Title
Guidelines for Implementation of a Value Chain Approach to Management of Foot and Mouth Disease Risk for Beef Exporting Enterprises in Southern Africa. Technical Report to the Wildlife Conservation Society’s AHEAD Program
Author(s)
G. Thomson; M.-L. Penrith
Published
2015
Abstract
In southern Africa the vast majority of cattle are located in areas not free of foot and mouth disease (FMD), leaving owners of these cattle with limited access to regional and international beef markets. This situation constrains investment in cattle production, thereby limiting rural development and helping to entrench rural poverty in one of the least developed regions of the world.
For decades this situation has been accepted as irredeemable because the type of FMD prevalent in the region is maintained by wildlife from which it is technically very difficult or impossible to eliminate. Moreover, until recently, international trade rules and conventions were founded on the need for the locality of beef production to be free of FMD. Fortunately, this situation is changing and options include, among others, management of risk of FMD along a particular value chain. These Guidelines are provided to inform management of enterprises based on beef production of the nature of these changes and specifically how, step-by-step, the value chain approach can now be assessed and potentially exploited to broaden market access and thereby profitability.
This presents a new vista for beef production in many parts of southern Africa, and potentially beyond.
Keywords
foot and mouth disease; beef
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