By Natalie Kioko
The government has announced plans to put into effect a digital livestock identification and traceability system in an effort to facilitate efficient record-keeping.
The livestock identification and traceability system will enable farmers to obtain digital IDs for their animals, enabling them to monitor their feeding and manage disease control measures such as deworming, tick control, and vaccinations.
Livestock Development Principal Secretary, Jonathan Mueke, while speaking at the official opening of the third edition of the Kenya Meat Expo at KICC, stated that the tender for supplying the IDs has already been floated.
“Farmers will be given digital IDs for their animals, which will enable them to present a certificate detailing their livestock rearing to slaughterhouses, thus ensuring that they get a fair price for their livestock,” Mueke stated.
The Principal Secretary further added that the IDs would not only be a game changer in curbing cattle rustling, but would also ensure the local livestock control chain conforms to the global food traceability system, allowing people to trace the origin of their food products.
“Global traceability is extremely important for food items and countries are not going to import your products if you can’t trace them from the farm from where they came from,” the Principal Secretary added.