Al-Bawari Reveals Livestock Protection Measures and Monitors Widespread Vaccination Campaigns to Enhance Herd Health Safety
Ahmed Al-Bawari, Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, Rural Development, and Water and Forests, stated that the health status of livestock in Morocco remains generally good and is under continuous health monitoring. He highlighted that the National Office for Food Safety (ONSSA) is implementing a precise strategy to protect the national livestock stock and improve its health status.
In a written response to a question from MP Idris Al-Santisi, Al-Bawari explained that the previous year witnessed the organization of two national booster vaccination campaigns against foot-and-mouth disease; the first campaign vaccinated over 1.4 million cattle, while the second campaign, launched on September 18, vaccinated more than 400,000 additional heads.
The minister added that veterinary authorities also initiated a booster vaccination campaign for small ruminants in the eastern border areas since September, targeting foot-and-mouth disease, which has allowed for the vaccination of over two million sheep and goats, with the campaign continuing to this day.
The measures also included launching a national campaign to vaccinate cattle against contagious bovine pleuropneumonia, which resulted in vaccinating about 400,000 heads, alongside another campaign aimed at sheep and goats to prevent and treat enterotoxemias, resulting in the treatment and vaccination of over seven million heads.
Controlling Infectious Diseases
Concerning epidemic diseases, the minister reported that veterinary services under ONSSA intervened to manage various outbreaks of bluetongue disease in sheep and goats, vaccinating 148,259 heads in infected farms and their surroundings, which contributed to stabilizing the health situation and closely monitoring it.
He also mentioned the scheduling of a national campaign during the second half of the current year to treat bee colonies for Varroa disease.
Al-Bawari affirmed that the office relies on a comprehensive national epidemiological surveillance system for animal diseases that operates year-round, in coordination with official veterinary services, private veterinarians, and local authorities, with the aim of identifying any suspected cases and taking necessary preventive measures.
He explained that this system also tracks the epidemiological situation at the national level and in neighboring countries, involving various stakeholders including ONSSA’s veterinary services, private veterinarians, local authorities, and border control services.
Additionally, he noted that private veterinarians, stationed across the regions of the kingdom, provide daily support to farms by diagnosing animal diseases, providing treatments, and conducting necessary vaccinations for breeders.
National Herd Inventory
Regarding tracking the national herd, the minister reminded that an inventory was conducted in collaboration with the Ministries of Interior and Economy and Finance through local committees, covering various areas of the country, resulting in the creation of a database comprising about 32.8 million livestock and approximately 1.2 million breeders.
He confirmed the completion of the national herd identification process with ear tags by December 31, 2025, which involved about 32.3 million heads of cattle, sheep, goats, and camels.
He pointed out that this process established a precise and reliable database, which has become the reference for identifying beneficiaries of direct financial support directed to breeders, disbursed in two installments for the documented herd carrying the numbered tags.
