The government plans to spend about N$47 million on a 290-kilometre disease-control fence stretching from Ariamsvlei through Karasburg to Ai-Ais, as it steps up efforts to contain the Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) outbreak in the //Kharas Region.
The proposed fence forms part of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Land Reform’s revised containment strategy following the confirmation of FMD serotype SAT 1 in the Karasburg State Veterinary District.
Agriculture Minister Inge Zaamwani said the new infrastructure would strengthen the physical separation of the containment zone from surrounding areas and support enforcement of livestock movement restrictions.
“Of this amount, approximately N$47,017,591.50 is earmarked for the construction of approximately 290 kilometres of new fencing along the proposed route from Ariamsvlei through Karasburg to Ai-Ais,” Zaamwani said.
The fence forms part of an estimated N$190.2 million funding requirement identified by the Ministry for critical measures to contain the outbreak.
“The proposed infrastructure is intended to strengthen separation between the containment zone and surrounding areas and to support the enforcement of livestock movement controls,” she said.
The planned investment comes as the Directorate of Veterinary Services intensifies surveillance, livestock tracing, laboratory testing and movement controls across affected areas.
As at 2 October 2026, 79 samples from 11 farms had tested positive for FMD, out of 531 samples submitted for laboratory analysis. A total of 450 samples tested negative, while one sample remained unconfirmed pending further laboratory testing.
The Ministry had also deployed 13 surveillance teams, which inspected 15,096 animals by 2 October.
Of the 81 farms targeted for surveillance, 66 had been inspected, with the remaining 15 expected to be covered by 5 October.
Veterinary authorities have also investigated livestock movements involving 47 establishments within a 30-kilometre radius of affected areas, with tracing extended to approximately 50 kilometres from affected premises.
The proposed fence will form part of a wider containment programme that includes vaccination of eligible livestock, targeted culling, intensified surveillance and strict livestock movement controls.
Zaamwani said vaccination would proceed from the outer boundaries of the containment zone towards the outbreak’s epicentre.
She also cautioned farmers against independently vaccinating or moving livestock or undertaking other disease-control measures without approval from veterinary authorities.
The Minister said interventions must be coordinated through the Directorate of Veterinary Services to ensure the containment strategy is implemented consistently across the affected area.
