Vaccine Scandal? Foot-and-Mouth Spreads While Govt Blocks Farmers , Theo de Jager Explains

Описание: South Africa’s foot-and-mouth outbreak isn’t “bad luck” it’s a slow-burn state failure that’s now crushing farmers, threatening food supply chains, and risking export credibility. Theo de Jager (Southern African Agricultural Initiative) explains how SA used to contain outbreaks with red/blue/white zones, why command-and-control collapsed, and why farmers are now heading to court to win the right to vaccinate their own herds because government has the power, but not the capacity.

IN THIS EPISODE
• How 2002/2006 outbreaks were contained (and why that system died)
• The outbreak spotted in Nov 2024 but only declared “affected” in March 2025
• The “wildfire” problem: five months of delay national spread
• Why farmers stop reporting outbreaks: 12–14 months quarantine kills businesses
• Why dairy herds are getting wiped out first
• The vaccine bottleneck: control without capacity (vets, vehicles, cold chain)
• The price scandal: R50–R55/dose vs R300/dose “follow the money”
• The court fight: can farmers vaccinate their own animals legally?
• SA’s lost vaccine capacity: ARC stopped around 2006/07 + R480m “vanished” revamp
• Communal herds: 40% of cattle, no fences, no handling facilities state can’t do it alone
• The solution blueprint: private vet network + barcode tracking + nose-print ID + volunteers
• What Brazil did: farmers + volunteers vaccinated 300m cattle and regained FMD-free status

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Chapters:
0:00 Foot-and-mouth is spreading fast (why this matters)
0:46 Guest intro: Theo de Jager (SAAI)
0:56 Sponsor: Pace Car Rental (Code: SONA)
2:30 How SA USED to contain outbreaks (zones + roadblocks)
4:53 What collapsed: command-and-control failures
6:14 The timeline problem: outbreak seen early, action came late
8:13 Why farmers stop reporting (quarantine destroys businesses)
10:59 State controls vaccines — but can’t deliver them
12:03 Vaccine price scandal: R50 vs R300 per dose
13:26 Farmers go to court: right to vaccinate
18:41 SA lost vaccine production (ARC/OBP) + missing revamp money
28:55 Communal herds: 40% of cattle, hardest part to manage
39:18 Preventative vaccination: the only realistic option now
41:29 Brazil model: farmer-led rollout that worked
46:14 What SA must do next (private vets + tracking + volunteers)
49:58 Wrap + subscribe CTA