Ear tags could solve foot & mouth

Nnasaretha Kgamanyane | Monday August 25, 2014 17:39

 

Acting Agriculture Minister Oreeditse Molebatsi on Thursday  told a gathering of farmers in Pitsane at the launch of the new system that the ministry will now be able to control animal diseases effectively.

Molebatsi says since disease surveillance in the red zones will be  enhanced by the traceability system it would facilitate exploration of beef markets from the red zones.

Molebatsi observed that it is essential to ensure that all cattle are uniquely identified, and added that  in the past the Ministry of Agriculture has not been able to achieve individual animal identification in Botswana. The double ear tags system has been poriced at P20 per  pair as well as P350, for each applicator. The new livestock identification system, now rebranded as the Botswana Animal Identification and Traceability System, has also been hailed as farmer centric. Promoters say it will allow  farmers to carry out most of the non-regulatory operations with minimal involvement of  the Department of Veterinary Services.

The farmer will be able to buy the ear tags, tag their own cattle; effect ownership transfers, submit application for movement permit using ear tag numbers, as well as process replacement of lost ear tags and transfer ear tags between keepers and record arrivals of all cattle at new destination. The ear tag system replaces the bolus system, which presented challenges to farmers.  Farmers were not able to identify bolused cattle while the ministry could not bolus all cattle timely due to resource constraints. The ministry launched analogue ear tags which were applied to bolused cattle last year.