Windhoek — The Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry this week introduced the Namibian Livestock Identification and traceability system (NamLITS) which will help with the prevention, control and eradication of animal disease and parasites.

The ministry will be tagging and registering cattle in the Northern Communal Areas with the support from the Millenium Challenge Account Namibia. The animals will be branded by means of two official ear tags, a radio frequency (RFID) ear tag in the left ear and a visual ear tag in the right ear.

The ear tags for the Northern Communal Areas will be supplied by the ministry at no extra costs.

Speaking at a press conference recently, the Minister of Agriculture, Water and Forestry, Hon John Mutorwa said that the identification of cattle in the rest of the country will be enhanced through the introduction of the same RFID ear tags to replace the current single visual ear tags.

Cattle will need to be tagged using the two ear tags and registered by the age of six months.

"The NamLITS will need to be informed when animals move between designated establishments and other animal events. Introduction of movement controls under the NamLITS system in the Northern Communal Areas will use the existing system as much as possible, particularly the existing movement controls managed by traditional authorities," he said.

The minister also said that some establishments such as auctions, shows, abattoirs and other slaughter facilities will need to make some additional changes to support the RFID ear tags as purchasing static or handheld RFID readers.

"The computerised NamLITS database is being improved to hold the identification and traceability information for all regions. We will retain the strict controls on the use of the data collected under NamLITS, particularly personal records," he assured.

Farmers in the current foot and mouth disease free zone will continue to purchase tags from their current suppliers.

The government through the Agriculture Ministry has committed funds to support the initial buying of the new ear tags through a subsidy of N$5 for new ear tags, N$6,20 for reimbursement of unused tags and N$3 for the replacement of old single tags.