Government is set to vaccinate the national herd of at least 14 million cattle, as South Africa grapples with one of the worst outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) the country has experienced.

According to President Cyril Ramaphosa, the vaccination drive requires 28 million vaccines over the next 12 months.

"This disease is damaging our economy, resulting in export bans, trade restrictions and devastation of herds. The state will facilitate the acquisition of the vaccines centrally to ensure that we get the right vaccine for the particular strain of the virus in South Africa," the President said on Thursday night.

He was delivering the State of the Nation Address (SONA) to a Joint Sitting of the two Houses of Parliament, the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces (NCOP), at the Cape Town City Hall.

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"We will work closely with the private sector to enable an efficient rollout and most importantly we will ensure that commercial, private and communal farmers have immediate access to vaccines," he said.

The President has established a task team made up of farmer organisations and experts, working together with the Minister of Agriculture and his department.

The task team will report to the President every month on the progress the country is making in dealing with this pandemic.

"We have classified foot-and-mouth disease as a national disaster and will be mobilising all necessary capabilities within the state to deal with this crisis."

Last week, Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen announced that South Africa has resumed local production of foot and mouth disease vaccines.

The President noted that the agriculture sector is expanding rapidly.

"Already, we are the second largest exporter of citrus fruit in the world. We are opening new markets for our exports, from citrus and avocados to maize, livestock, grapes and wine.

"Through the Blended Finance Scheme, working with the Land Bank and commercial banks, we have provided R7.8 billion in innovative funding to black producers. We will deploy 10 000 new extension officers to support farmers and improve agricultural productivity," President Ramaphosa said.

He said these interventions will give rise to many opportunities for young people to be employed in the agricultural sector.