May 2 2007 ~ The EU is sending 12.6 million euros to Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Malawi to fight foot and mouth disease
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These southern african countries will receive 12.6 million euros (about 8.6 million pounds) and the project, which started on April 1 this year, will run for the next three years. The Principal Director in the Department of Veterinary Services in Zimbabwe, Stuart Hargreaves, said the lack of vaccines, equipment and other drugs had been the major factors hampering the effective control of foot and mouth there.
He is quoted in All Africa.com "It is our intention to totally eradicate foot and mouth in our farming areas."
The EU was once the largest consumer of Zimbabwean beef, with more than 9,000 tons per year being exported at the peak of the bilateral trade relations but it has since set stringent conditions for the importation of Zimbabwean beef products.
An official with the Zimbabwe state veterinary services told IPS news.
- ''The EU wants all the cattle in the country to be linked to the farm and dipping tank of origin through a process called ear-tagging. We do not have that kind of money, considering our foreign exchange situation.''
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