Experts root for electronic tags for cattle identification

Moshi. Livestock experts have been urged to ensure that at least 70 percent of all cattle in Tanzania have electronic tags fixed on their ears by August this year.

This would assist in identification of the animals taken to the markets within and outside the country, said Dr.Anneth Kitambi, a senior official with the ministry of Livestock Development and Fisheries.

According to her, currently only three percent of the cattle across the country had been registered for the system, easing their identification and traceability.

She revealed this here recently during a meeting of livestock experts from all the local authorities in the northern zone regions; Kilimanjaro, Tanga, Manyara and Arusha. Among the issues which came up for discussion was the new system of identification and easy tracking of the cattle by fixing the electronic gadgets on their ears. Dr Kitambi implored on the local authorities in the zone - municipal, town and district councils - to ensure that the livestock keepers are sufficiently sensitized on the issue.

“Given that only three percent of the cattle have been registered under the system, you have to reach out the herders before the deadline (August 2022),” she pointed out.

The northern regions are among the areas with the largest concentration of livestock in the country, followed by the broader Lake Zone, the central zone and other zones in recent years.

Tanzania’s cattle population currently stand at 30.5 million, accounting for about 1.4 percent of global cattle population and eleven percent of African population of the animals. Dr Kitambi admitted that the exercise was facing some challenges, including the recent dry spell which forced many livestock keepers to migrate with their animals in search of fodder and water.

She said the ministry was striving to raise funds for the purchase of the gadgets, noting that once raised the money would be remitted to the local authorities to facilitate the exercise.

Once accomplished the exercise would boost the sale of the livestock because the buyers were not keen on using the electronic data to assess the health status of the animal taken to the market.

This, according to her, was more pronounced with the animals lined up for export to the neighbouring countries and beyond which must be certified by the buyers to be safe from diseases..

“Some buyers must verify if the animals had completed the vaccination cycle through information contained in the electronic gadget fixed on the ears,” she explained.

Other livestock experts say the use of the technology has proved useful in controlling the spread of diseases as the animal can be tracked via the electronic ear tag throughout its entire life time.

One of the firms involved in the manufacture of electronic ear tags for the animals is the Dar es Salaam-based S & J Animal Tech Limited.

The company executive director Shanel Ngowi they were keen to work with the Livestock Development and Fisheries ministry to reach the goal.

According to him, currently the company had in its stock over eight million electronic ear tags which other consignments had been ordered from abroad.

“There will not be any shortage at all...all the district/town/municipal councils would be supplied because we have enough stocks”, he said at the meeting, appreciating the move by the ministry to involve the private sector.

A veterinary expert with the Veterinary Investigation Centre (VIC) in the northern zone Dr. Raphael Mwampashi said Mwanga district in Kilimanjaro and Ngorongoro in Arusha were in the last stages of distributing the gadgets.