The experts from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, supporting the development of the National Animal Identification and Traceability System (NAITS) of the National Food Agency of Georgia, visited the countries in the Caribbean to finalize the arrangements related to the transfer of the Georgia’s NAITS system. 

After a successful implementation in Georgia by FAO and handover of the system to the National Food Agency, FAO made the system internationally available to other countries in need. The transfer of the system has been financially supported by FAO and has already been transferred to Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Guyana, St. Lucia, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Two more countries, North Macedonia and Mauritius, are in the process of transferring Georgia’s NAITS. 

The NAITS is a comprehensive electronic platform that serves to reduce the risks and improve the productivity and competitiveness of Georgia’s livestock sector through improved animal health, traceability and food safety. The system collects, records, and analyses data related to mandatorily identified animals in the country. The system also aims to increase farmer incomes by improving animal health and addressing preconditions for access to both regional and international markets, by ensuring compliance with European Union (EU) importing requirements. The NAITS is a critical component of the government’s efforts in Georgia to comply with the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA).

The team from FAO Georgia visited each of the listed countries and met with the relevant authorities and the users of the system. The NAITS country level operationalization was discussed and the system functionalities of the customized versions of the system were presented to a wide audience of institutions, governmental services and potential users.

In addition, the team presented the NAITS Android application to facilitate offline use of the system, particularly in areas where access to mobile internet is a limitation. Unlike in Georgia where the main value of the system is in the improvement of animal health and reduction of zoonotic diseases, in the Caribbean region the system and its RFID functionalities are seen as an important tool for addressing Praedial Larceny (theft of agricultural produce), as one of the largest development constraints for the livestock sector.

The FAO and the NAITS project will continue supporting the Competent Authorities of the Caribbean countries throughout 2024 and 2025, sharing system updates, implementation advice, user manuals, reporting support and newly developed functionalities, ensuring adding value to the already achieved results.

“The Management of FAO Georgia and the Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia and the Management of the FAO Sub Regional Office in the Caribbean have agreed to continue the cooperation and efforts to disseminate the system among other interested CARICOM members, as a unique opportunity to achieve full regional integration of data sharing on animals and animal products, which unfortunately has not been possible in the Caucasus region,“ said Dragan Angelovski, Chief Technical Advisor at FAO. 

Georgia is the first country in the region to introduce an electronic system such as the NAITS and it has served as learning example for other countries in the Caucasus and Central Asia. Confirming the robustness and quality of the system, countries including North Macedonia, Albania, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Mauritius, have also expressed interest in sharing the system or sharing the Georgian system development experiences.   The project is implemented by NFA with technical assistance from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and financial assistance from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and Austrian Development Cooperation (ADC).  NAITS kicked off in 2017 when Georgia was still using paper documents and it was handed over to the Government in 2021. The ongoing second phase of Technical Assistance project in support to NFA’s NAITS aims to extend the sharing of information with other governmental and nongovernmental stakeholders, to secure the sustainability of the system, and ensure the long-term impact on public health, animal health, food safety, and access to international markets.