South African veterinary strategy (2015-2020)

The Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) recently presented its "proposal for a new Veterinary Strategy to improve the performance of Veterinary Services in South Africa based on the current South Africa legal framework, evaluation results of the World Organisation for Animal Health (Office international des Epizooties – OIE) and the stakeholder consultation on the animal diseases management plan. The proposed veterinary strategy provides a broad framework for the fulfilment of the national and provincial Departments of Agricultures' responsibilities to guarantee citizens of South Africa “the right to have access to sufficient and safe food of animal origin and that “the State must take reasonable legislative and other measures, within its available resources, to achieve the progressive realisation of each of these rights. The strategy therefore aligns itself with the New Growth Path (NGP), the National Development Plan (NDP) and Industrial Policy Action Plan (IPAP) through the Agriculture Policy Action Plan (APAP) which seeks to assist in the achievement of decent employment through inclusive growth, and comprehensive rural development and food security. The Strategy builds on national risk based studies as well as the international conventions and guidelines of the World Organization for Animal Health (Office international des Epizooties- OIE), Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and Codex Alimentarius. ​