"Reaching out - to Africa, and the world…"

Onderstepoort Biological Products (OBP) plays a role of prime strategic importance to our nation's economy. Its work - to produce world-class vaccines to control diseases among commercial livestock herds - goes to the heart of the development of a healthy agricultural industry here, and on the wider African continent.

It is a responsibility unique in Africa. A daunting assignment, too, for the names of these scourges a signal of potential disaster to farmers and breeders: Rift Valley fever…bluetongue disease…ephemeral fever… lumpy skin disease…anthrax…African horsesickness… and many others.

Despite these threats, we are winning the battle, thanks to the skills and dedication of scientists, technicians and specialist workers at OBP. We are jointly engaged on a new nation-building enterprise in pursuit of the African Renaissance.

South Africa presents a unique challenge to livestock owners - running commercial animal production - in the presence of indigenous diseases. Vaccines produced by OBP make this possible.

This is equally true of the thoroughbred horse industry which has also benefited from the development of African horsesickness vaccine.

The concern of OBP goes far beyond harnessing science to perfect and produce vaccines, however critically important this may be.

OBP is focused on the promotion of good husbandry in livestock farming, on the education and technical support of established and emerging farmers, and on the building of healthy herds - one of the main foundations of our nation's economy.

Nor is OBP's success limited to South Africa. Our influence and scientific and technical backup are far-reaching, and many of our products are uniquely designed to combat livestock diseases elsewhere in Africa, the Middle East, Mediterranean countries and South America.

OBP is a commercial as well as a scientific enterprise. Since its corporatisation during the year 2000 it has been progressively re-organised according to established business formulas, emerging now as a highly successful amalgam of knowledge, where commercial know-how is applied to exploit scientific excellence.