The Eastern Cape government recently introduced the livestock identification and traceability system (LITS) in Tsolo, located within the Mhlontlo local municipality of the OR Tambo District. This initiative will be implemented across 120 cattle farming enterprises, benefitting 30 000 cattle throughout the province.
According to Masiza Mazizi, spokesperson for the provincial government, LITS is a technology-based ear tag device marking a significant step forward in securing the livelihoods of farmers in the Eastern Cape and beyond, demonstrating the transformative potential of integrating cutting-edge technology into traditional agricultural practices.
“The LITS is the national initiative that was agreed upon by government and industry. The scourge of stock theft in the rural Eastern Cape is serious threat into the lives of livestock farmers. The ability of the system to fight stock theft is based on its ability to identify the owner through branding and identify animal through individual animal identification number,” Mazizi said.
He added that the current prosecution rate in the province is low due to non-compliance of farmers with the Animal Identification Act of 2006.
Reporting livestock theft
“The current intervention [is] through capacitation of the department offices and officials with equipment to brand and identify animals with electronic tags. These together should improve conviction rate thus reduction of stock theft,” he explained.
Meanwhile, Sabatha Mnjunju from Jence village in Tsolo, a livestock farmer and LITS beneficiary, shared hesitation and excitement about the government taking action to address farmers’ concerns, especially with cattle security methods.
“However, I feel like we didn’t get enough information on how this works in case our cattle disappear. Do we go to the police, and then what?” he asked.
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He said government officials did not provide sufficient details on where to report missing livestock.
“I just know that we report to the police station, like we used to before. With this device, we should be reporting to someone responsible for tracking them immediately after noticing their disappearance, then to the police station but we do not have that information,” he explained.
Mnjunju also noted that livestock thieves can be from surrounding villages, and these devices are placed in the cows’ ears, making them visible to anyone.
“How is that helping when thieves can just take off these devices? As much as this excites me, I believe they need to find a more secure method.”
He suggested that if these devices could be stored in a hidden place within the cow, it would be more secure than visible, making him uncertain about the system.
Traditional meets technology
According to Justice Maphosa, the founder of Find Me Security Technology, a GPS tracker company specialising in advanced security technology for the agricultural sector, this is a big step for the Eastern Cape farming community.
Maphosa highlighted that traditional methods of livestock branding are no longer sufficient in the modern age.
“This in a way is good for farmers. Where a farmer loses his or her livestock and they are found, this system helps trace the owner. It is easier also to know where in the province and district the livestock are from. At times where livestock had been found, it had been hard to connect them with the rightful owners as they do not have brand marks,” Maphosa said.
He added that by enabling farmers to track the movement of their livestock similarly to how vehicles are tracked, this technology offers a powerful tool against stock theft.
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