Parliament, Tuesday, 3 March 2026 – The Select Committee on Agriculture Land Reform and Mineral Resources alongside provincial legislators conducted an oversight visit to the Onderstepoort Biological Products (OBP).
The committee Chairperson, Mr Mpho Modise, said the purpose of the oversight was to gather firsthand information about the facility’s processes, storage facilities, distribution strategy, monitoring and collaboration with provinces to ensure vaccines reach their intended destinations.
Dr Jacob Modumo, interim chief executive of OBP, explained that all government vaccines are received at the facility and the foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) vaccine can be distributed within 72 hours of its arrival. OBP has an efficient logistics and distribution system, with backup power that activates within 30 seconds if Eskom’s power goes down.
Dr Modumo stressed that OBP’s products are temperature sensitive, requiring proper storage for careful temperature management. The committee was shown a storage facility where only the FMD vaccines are stored for all provinces. Dr Modumo mentioned that space has been allocated for provinces facing challenges with providing cold-chain storage. Traceability measures have also been put in place to track how much was taken, who took it and where it was delivered.
In response to enquiries about the million FMD vaccine doses that arrived the previous week, Dr Modumo replied that they have all be distributed, leaving OBP with only 9 000 remaining doses. The Dollvet vaccines that arrived on Sunday morning are expected to reach the facility shortly, pending quality assurance and counting. On biosecurity protocols, Dr Modumo confirmed that there has never been a biosecurity breach, as OBP has a dedicated team managing security.
The committee also questioned OBP’s financial feasibility and performance, noting that it was previously one of the poorly performing state-owned enterprises in the agricultural sector. Dr Modumo replied that, based on the quarter three performance, OBP is improving.
Committee members also inquired about job creation arising from FMD activities. Dr Modumo said that much construction has occurred over the past year, primarily involving black-owned companies. As for FMD, he was optimistic about job creation in terms of temporary workers to deal with packing and distribution of the bulk orders of FMD vaccines.
Dr Modumo noted the Department of Agriculture presentation highlighting the number of unemployed animal health technicians to be integrated into the value chain. Many will work for the government, while others will be engaged indirectly by the provinces. Extension officers and animal health technicians will facilitate vaccine administration.
The committee sought to understand how many animal health technicians could be absorbed by OBP and the provinces. Dr Modumo said their distribution channels make products accessible to rural areas. Qualified animal technicians are essential at distribution points, and OBP said it provides incentives to help them start their own businesses.
The committee was also briefed on OBP’s automation strategy and the new equipment sourced to enhance performance and efficiency. Dr Modumo highlighted the need for OBP to be competitive, stating that it operates like any other commercial entity and must continually improve efficiency. The implementation of its automation strategy will lead to insourcing personnel across different departments and with this in place retrenchments will not occur.
Committee members inquired about OBP’s weekly vaccine production capacity. Dr Modumo stated that OBP can produce around 160 million doses annually, with the capability to manufacture approximately 40 000 vials of a viral product weekly, which equates to vaccinating around 40 000 horses.
Members asked if OBP can produce the FMD vaccine, to which Dr Modumo replied that it could not. The FMD vaccine is produced by the Agricultural Research Council (ARC). Members of the committees asked why ARC is producing the FMD vaccines and not OBP: “It was a political decision, I don’t know the reason behind,” Mr Modumo replied.
He was also asked if the facility has the capacity to produce the FMD vaccine. He replied that OBP has the expertise and will do so if the opportunity arises.
ISSUED BY THE PARLIAMENTARY COMMUNICATION SERVICES ON BEHALF OF THE CHAIRPERSON SELECT COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE, LAND REFORM AND MINERAL RESOURCES, MR MPHO BONES MODISE.
For media inquiries or interviews with the Chairperson, please contact the committee’s Media Officer:
Name: Yoliswa Landu (Ms)
Cell: 081 497 4694
E-mail: ylandu@parliament.gov.za
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