Farmer's Weekly reports this was according to PJ Hassard, president of the KwaZulu-Natal Agricultural Union, responding to a recent report by the national Department of Agriculture, which indicated that while two locations affected by the original outbreak in May 2021 had recently been removed from the list of those affected, a new location had been added. Serological and clinical surveillance of animals had been ongoing since last year, and observations at the two previously infected feedlots indicated that there had been no active disease-spread among animals for a period of more than six months.

AND

The typical feature of the La Niña weather event is above-normal rainfall in Southern Africa and dryness in the East Africa region. Wandile Sihlobo, the chief economist at the Agricultural Business Chamber of South Africa, says the East Africa region has been drying to the extent that there are fears of increased hunger in this continent region, specifically in Somalia, Kenya, and Ethiopia. He says within the Southern Africa region, the picture has somewhat been mixed. He says that due to weather disruptions, the neighbouring countries' maize production conditions also remain tentative.

OFM News