Livestock

BAITS3 deliver comparatively nuanced animal registration and traceability.

Veterinary authorities are deploying the Botswana Animal Information and Traceability System (BAITS) to accelerate monitoring of livestock movement as cases of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) become apparent in Kgatleng District

The BAITS system supports the management of movement with revised movement controls. Movement management depends on animal identification, traceability, veterinary checks and other disease-control requirements. The system helps in tracking livestock registration and ownership records.

The system allows veterinary authorities to verify an animal’s registered ownership and location and to support movement controls alongside vaccination records, quarantine measures and veterinary inspections. 

BAITS2 is now upgraded to BAITS3 to deliver comparatively nuanced animal registration and traceability. BAITS3 is also digitally equipped to support livestock owners in registering animals, recording ownership transfers and arrivals, reporting deaths and updating veterinary information. 

BAITS3 is central to Botswana’s broader FMD-control approach, which involves zoning, vaccination, quarantine, surveillance and restrictions on animal movement. This practice aligns with the vision of World Organisation for Animal Health.

The Ministry of Lands and Agriculture has advised farmers to update livestock records and ensure animals carry required identification, including ear tags and brands. This helps to check rapid spreading by localising disease risks within specific control zones. 

The Ministry is prioritising precautionary measures against suspected FMD cases at several crushes in the Oodi and Mochudi extension areas. It has initiated investigations and prohibited livestock movements in Disease Control Zone 11, except within the designated containment area, and imposed additional restrictions in Zones 3, 8, 9 and 10.

Africa is willing to coordinate policy and trade across borders.

The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and the African Union Inter-African Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR) convened while AGRA hosted a roundtable at the Africa Food Systems Forum in Kigali, Rwanda

Ministers or their representatives from Nigeria, Uganda, Niger, Mali, Malawi, Rwanda and Ethiopia as well as Mokgweetsi Eric Keabetswe Masisi, former President of Botswana, participated in the session. The Ministers expressed their desire to collaborate in areas of livestock value chains, unlock investment, expand market and trade, and build partnerships needed to scale livestock solutions across the continent.

The collaboration will address a widening gap between Africa’s potential and its performance. Even after owning a notable portion of the world's resources, Africa has to spend nearly US$100bn on food imports annually. Meanwhile, animal-source foods are the most expensive food group for Africans, for whom healthy diets are the furthest out of reach, with demand projected to grow 280 percent by 2050.

What can be the most promising interventions for improving livestock productivity were discussed at the meeting. Topics included livestock genetics to quality feed and animal health initiatives, as well as what large-scale delivery actually requires, and the conditions needed to move from livestock plans to implementation.

“Clearly Africa doesn’t lack solutions for its livestock sector. What it lacks is scale and productivity. Closing this gap between what Africa produces and what it imports is the key to delivering on the promise of the continent’s $1trillion annual agribusiness potential,” said Appolinaire Djikeng, ILRI Director General. “Today’s commitments show ministers are ready to move from proven innovations to the investment and regional trade that turn them into a continent-wide blueprint for self-reliance.”

“Africa does not lack livestock potential. We do not lack animals. We do not lack farmers. We do not lack science and technical knowledge. We certainly do not lack demand. And, increasingly, we do not lack policy recognition. What we have lacked is the ability to connect all these pieces and deliver at scale. Africa’s livestock priority is no longer recognition. It is delivery,” explained Professor Lindiwe Majele Sibanda, Chair of Council Zimbabwe National University of Science and Technology, extraordinary Professor University of Pretoria, Co-Chair Food Planet Prize.

“We already know what works. The task now is coordinating policy and trade across borders, so proven livestock solutions can scale from one country to a continent. That is what the Integrated Regional Livestock Value Chain program is built to do, and what today’s commitments move us closer to,” said Dr. Huyam Salih, Director of the African Union Inter-African Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR).

The organisation arranges for livestock owners customised vaccination.

With a focus on improving agricultural knowledge, including livestock management and generating practical farming information in Nigeria, Green Livestock Africa Limited has announced expansion of its farmer-development and community support programmes

Farmer education remains core to the Rivers State-based livestock organisation by Eromosele Edward Ozah, offering training and free agricultural resources in livestock farming. “Access to practical knowledge helps farmers make better decisions, reduce avoidable losses and improve the productivity of their farms,” the organisation stated.

The areas in which training are offered by Green Livestock Africa include livestock breeding, nutrition, disease prevention and farm management. Its learning resources can also be availed virtually and free of costs.

The organisation’s first documented training cohort consisted of 93 farmers. Impact records show that the group completed training covering breeding, nutrition, disease prevention and farm management. It links training with practical agricultural resources, veterinary support, livestock genetics and health management.

Under its Herd Health Card provision, the organisation arranges for livestock owners customised vaccination and health schedules based on the species and age of their animals. The system covers goats, sheep, cattle and poultry. It shares information on improved livestock genetics and artificial insemination. Its goat breeding programme uses genetics from breeds including Kalahari, Boer and Sahel goats, with breeding details recorded as part of each animal’s records.

The organisation’s community-focused activities are designed to reach beyond farmers and generate youth interest in agriculture.

Retech provides integrated automated layer farming systems.

Poultry farm modernisation solution provider for Nigerian farmers, Retech Farming, can convert traditional layer houses into modern automated systems

The company provides integrated automated layer farming systems. Higher-density housing, automated equipment and controlled production environments replace open-style Type A simple cages with a limited capacity for 5,000 chickens. 

While this works for small-scale startups requiring low initial investment and technical requirements for quick construction, this conventional method relies on natural ventilation, manual feeding and egg collection. It comes with stocking density and space limitations, even when labour costs remain high. There's no way of contolling temperature stability and humidity, making egg production uncertain and prone to diseases.

Retech Farming offers:

- Traditional chicken house assessment

- Chicken house design upgrade

- Steel structure construction

- H-type layer hen cage system

- Automatic feeding, watering, manure removal and egg collection system

- Environmental control system

- Installation and commissioning

These services support the transition from traditional poultry houses to integrated automated layer farming systems.

From 5,000 traditional open A-type cages to 50,000 chickens in a single building increases breeding scale by 10 times. The closed H-type multi-tier fully automatic layer cages maximise land utilisation through cascading design. This dramatically boosts egg production per unit area while reducing unit egg production costs.

Retech’s closed steel structure chicken coop, combined with an automatic environmental control system, can isolate wild birds and mosquitoes, reduce the risk of disease invasion such as avian influenza, and provide more precise temperature and humidity control.

This approach can help stabilise the egg production rate and extend the peak egg production period. 

Retech aims to revolutionise Nigeria’s egg-laying hen industry by ensuring eggshell cleanliness, size uniformity, and uninteruppted supply. Its real-world farm upgrade project will help core consumer markets like Lagos and Abuja meet increasingly stringent sourcing standards.