A high court in Namibia recently ruled against a petition brought by Job Amupanda, an activist-turned-parliamentarian, who sought the removal of the veterinary cordon fence (VCF), or the ‘Red Line’ as it is known in .
The red line is a livestock disease control mechanism that dates back to . The colonial authorities set it up to prevent a rinderpest outbreak that had devastated nearly half of the cattle belonging to in the north.
However, the red line became a political boundary with time, dividing Namibia, then known as , into north and south.
In his legal challenge, Amupanda argued that safeguarding Namibia’s access to prime beef destination markets like the should not be carried out at the expense of equal and equitable participation for Namibian citizens in the country’s economy.
Attempts to remove the red line
However, despite Amupanda’s court case loss, the Namibian parliament approved recommendations to amend the red line regulations.
“Thirty years of independence is too much. How many years do we want to wait?” Natangwe Ithete, Namibia’s Deputy Prime Minister, said during the parliamentary hearing.
“We just speak of foot and mouth disease, which does not kill us,” Ithete stressed, adding that the same meat Europeans eat in the south is the same they consume when they go to northern Namibia.
Foot and mouth disease for livestock is endemic to the country’s northern regions, where roam freely. Namibia has occasional outbreaks because of the buffalo sharing the Kavango/Zambezi/Chobe River with Namibia at the transboundary Kavango Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area (KAZATFCA), where five countries meet.
In 2022, Namibia, through the ministries of international relations as well as the ministry of agriculture, signed an agreement with KAZATFCA to not erect fences or physical borders in the area in the interest of tourism and bilateral trade with as well as to allow free movement of wildlife as a conservation measure.
Foot and mouth disease outbreaks
The five countries are Namibia, , and
Case studies in India and Germany show that foot and mouth outbreaks occasionally happen in those countries. Yet, they continue to export beef after proper veterinary measures have been taken. Politicians in Namibia argue that the Southern African nation should be no exception.
“We are exporting the same meat to other countries. Why are people not dying? We should remove that [Red Line] fence and see whether we will die and see whether we will not find market. We will find market,” Ithete said.
For him, while to prevent the spread of diseases, livestock and their owners should be allowed to move freely, provided that they obtain health certifications and recent veterinary checks during non-outbreak periods.
He also suggested a robust tracing system and temporary health checkpoints along key routes to monitor for any signs of foot and mouth disease, as done south of the fence.
In addition, Ithete recommended that the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Land Reform amend their current regulatory framework to allow farmers north of the red line to have market access south of the red line and to other destinations like the EU.
The EU remains the prime destination of Namibian beef, with exports amounting to 1,266,236,830 Namibian Dollars (€59,091,933, $67,187,776) in 2024, according to the statistics provided by the National Statistics Agency (NSA).
Namibia’s beef industry
Other lucrative markets for Namibian beef include the and
Beef exports are a key driver of Namibia’s agricultural sector, contributing 5.1% to Namibia’s GDP.
“For decades, farmers from both the northern and southern regions of Namibia have significantly contributed to the country’s economic stability,” Thinus Pretorius, President of Namibia’s Agricultural Union, an umbrella body for commercial farmers South of the Red Line, told DW.
“The NAU envisions a future where all Namibian farmers have equal access to economic opportunities,” Pretorius said, adding that NAU emphasized that achieving such a transition required careful planning that safeguarded Namibia’s hard-earned reputation in global markets.
“While discussions surrounding agricultural policy can often become emotional, the NAU remains committed to advocating for decisions grounded in facts, and economic sustainability”, Pretorius further said.
The government ‘committed’ to removing the red line
Mac Hengari, Namibia’s newly appointed Minister of Agriculture, told DW the Namibian government is committed to “gradually” removing the red line.
“The support that we give to subsistence farmers should be geared toward moving them up the value chain and becoming commercial farmers in their own right,” Hengari said.
“In so doing, we then also have to give support to the existing farmers who are commercial farmers to be ambitious beyond the borders of Namibia, as well. So we are building a value chain upwards, and that is the focus, so our support should not be about maintaining the status quo.”
In January 2025, Germany reported a foot and mouth outbreak in its eastern region, with Namibia banning imports of meat products effective February.
Namibia last had a foot and mouth outbreak in 2022 in the northern Zambezi region. The area that commercial farmers say threatens Southern farmers and their lucrative beef trade.
Edited by: Chrispin Mwakideu
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