Best practices and challenges of the Animal Identification and Traceability System (NAITS) was discussed at workshop in Batumi
Workshops were held in Adjara region of Georgia, Batumi, to discuss the functionality, challenges and best practices of the Animal Identification and Traceability System (NAITS) in Georgia. Representatives of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the National Food Agency of the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture, donor organizations of the NAITS project, as well as the food business operators and municipal agencies of homeless animals participated in the meetings.
The NAITS is an electronic system which collects and records information regarding mandatorily identifiable animals, their keepers and keeping locations all around Georgia. The project serves the traceability of products of animal origin that is the essential part of food safety. The project also facilities trade and contributes to the effective implementation of the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) agreement.
With the involvement of project organizers and beneficiaries, the following topics, among others, were discussed at the meeting: ensuring the traceability of products of animal origin and the involvement of NAITS in this chain; use of NAITS for disease surveillance, food safety management, prevention and control of cattle diseases in Georgia; the NAITS pilot activities conducted in the Adjara region in 2023.
"NAITS, as a system, is constantly updated in accordance with current processes, stakeholder feedback and legislation. Therefore, it is important to conduct workshops and meetings with the various parties involved in the project, so that the system is flexible and integrates the interests of different stakeholders. At the current workshop we discussed the current status and challenges of the system as well as the new modules that might be integrated for its better functionality. It is important that we take into consideration the feedback and opinions of various groups, such as, for example, the representatives of the private sector and municipalities,” said Dragan Angelovski, the Chief Technical Advisor at FAO Georgia.
"The Animal Identification and traceability System is the basis for protecting rights of the two sides: on one hand, it serves the rights of the consumers to be guaranteed that they buy safe food, while on the other hand, it serves the rights of the producers to certify the safety of their product. In this regard, with the support of Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, we have taken very important steps forward in recent years,” said Zviad Asanishvili, Head of the Animal Identification and Registration division of the National Food Agency.
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NAITS is implemented by the National Food Agency with technical support of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). The project is financially supported by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and the Austrian Development Cooperation (ADC).