Ngamiland farmers drilled on livestock traceability system

The secretary for Ngamiland Agricultural Management Association, (NAMA), Hureva Tjavanga has urged farmers to take the Botswana Animal Information Traceable System (BAITS) initiative very seriously as it is for their own benefit.

Ngamiland farmers felt that government had not adequately consulted them when it introduced the initiative. The system is said to be critical to international markets despite the challenges faced by farmers in the district.Speaking during the BAITS roadshow in Maun recently, Tjavanga said farmers need to stand up and work jointly with government in order to improve the agricultural sector in Botswana and in particular the North-West District. “As farmers in the District we know our role in the development of the sector is of paramount importance as the economy of the majority of our households is dependent upon agriculture more especially the beef industry,” he said.

He said as much as they should take Foot and Mouth control measures seriously, ear-tagging of their cattle should also be a priority amongst them saying government has taken a stance to rollout the first ear tags for free under the Economic Stimulus Programme. He said as farmers they needed to take advantage of such a noble gesture to put more effort and take responsibility to ensure that they tag all their cattle.“In this exercise the part we play is to collect ear tags at the Department of Veterinary offices and transport tagging agents to our crushes. Please note that in other Districts farmers buy ear tags at a cost of P20 per tag,” explained Tjavanga.

He added, “I cannot stress the need to tag our cattle more as international markets require traceability and BAITS is the only way forward for the economy of Ngamiland to have meaningful growth and reap the benefits for international markets.”  For his part District Agriculture Coordinator, Orbert Mabutha said that the traceability system in this country is compulsory, as the system is not designed for European Union beef export markets only but to address animal health and public health concerns and thus facilitate trade with any potential markets.

Mabutha said the awareness campaign is a critical milestone towards enhancement of BAITS, saying it is aiming at bringing awareness to the Ngamiland farming community on the importance of ear tagging of cattle.“This was due to the fact that there was slow uptake of BAITS by farmers in the District whereby we see that up to date the Ministry of Agricultural Development and Food Security has issued 185 085 ear tags to 5225 farmers and only 44 438 ear tags have been uploaded,” he said.
He said for better implementation of the exercise the ministry has engaged BAITS agents in every extension area in the district.