The Red Meat Industry Services (RMIS) convened a workshop on Thursday, 3 October 2024, bringing together key stakeholders from the red meat and broader agricultural sectors, along with government representatives, to discuss the phased implementation of a livestock traceability system. This meeting marks a key moment in the process towards a unified and comprehensive approach to livestock traceability in South Africa.
The meeting focused amongst other discussion points on RMIS’s proposed phased approach to livestock traceability, aiming to establish a system for tracking livestock movements and ensuring the integrity of data across the sector. A task team has been formed to focus on four critical areas that need resolution over the next 14 days:

1. The naming of the industry traceability system.
2. Determination of a specific and unique animal identification number protocol.
3. Setting minimum requirements for both the traceability and data management systems.
4. Specifications and requirements for livestock identification tags.

The task team is composed of key representatives from various organisations in the industry, including the RPO, SA Red Meat, NALFA-SA, National Department of Agriculture, Cape Wools & NWGA, RMIS, Gendac and GS1.
These representatives will collaboratively work on the four pressing issues to ensure the traceability system is effective, practical, and aligned with international standards.
The outcomes of this initiative are expected to drive significant progress in the process of establishing the livestock traceability system. Further details will be communicated once the task team has completed its deliberations.