Botswana’s ongoing foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) crisis is putting increasing pressure on the country’s beef industry, with at least 6,600 cattle stranded at two large private feedlots and calls growing for government support.

South Africa’s Department of Agriculture says it has not received a formal request from the Botswana government to assist with accepting, slaughtering or marketing the affected cattle.

Moses Rannditsheni, director of media and external communication at South Africa’s Department of Agriculture, said the department would respond to a business proposal once an official request is submitted to the country’s chief veterinarian, director-general or agriculture minister.

The stranded cattle have remained at the feedlots well beyond their intended slaughter dates in March and April, creating additional costs for operators and uncertainty across the wider beef value chain.

Jannie Strumpher Snr, owner of J.S. Beef, one of the affected feedlots, said the Botswana government had not contacted him to discuss the situation. He said the only recent official communication was notification that his feedlot had been placed under precautionary quarantine following another FMD outbreak near the South African border.

According to Strumpher, the feedlot has been informed that the cattle may be moved for slaughter after a 30-day quarantine period, but authorities have not indicated where the animals can be slaughtered.

The situation is further complicated by restrictions affecting the Botswana Meat Commission (BMC), the state-owned entity with a statutory monopoly over the country’s beef slaughtering and export channels. Ongoing FMD outbreaks and international trade restrictions have disrupted processing and the movement of cattle, placing significant pressure on commercial producers and businesses linked to the beef industry.

The crisis has also triggered criticism from Botswana’s opposition Botswana Congress Party (BCP). Dr Kesitegile Gobotswang, a member of parliament and the party’s shadow minister for lands and agriculture, has accused the government of failing to contain the outbreak and called for greater financial support for affected farmers.

Gobotswang has proposed the establishment of an FMD relief fund to compensate farmers whose cattle have died or been culled, provide income support to producers in quarantine areas, and assist abattoirs, transporters and suppliers affected by movement restrictions.

He has also called for support to secure alternative export markets for Botswana beef while international restrictions remain in place.

The BCP is further demanding an itemised parliamentary account of how the P97 million allocated to FMD management has been spent. The party has questioned the continued funding of national and district FMD command centres and argued that greater resources should be directed towards disease surveillance, early detection, rapid response, biosecurity and the rehabilitation of disease-control fences.

Botswana’s beef industry faces significant economic exposure because of the disruption. Movement restrictions and export bans affect not only cattle producers but also feedlots, transport operators, abattoirs, feed suppliers and other businesses connected to the livestock value chain.

With thousands of cattle still stranded and no confirmed slaughter solution publicly announced for the affected feedlots, pressure is mounting on Botswana authorities to clarify their response and determine how the industry can manage the continuing impact of FMD.