Animal ID scheme delay 'prevents an agricultural INCIS'

Having called for implementation of the National Animal Identification and Tracing (NAIT) scheme to be delayed or abandoned, Federated Farmers is welcoming the decision by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF) to delay the scheme from its planned 1 November start.

“In Federated Farmers submission to Parliament’s Primary Production select committee we stated that a national, compulsory NAIT scheme was not needed in New Zealand at this time,” says Lachlan McKenzie, Federated Farmers co-spokesperson on animal identification.

“In many respects, the 1 November start date was always an artificial construct. We were repeatedly told that date was absolutely vital, so clearly, we welcome the scheme being placed on-hold until ‘mid to late 2012’.

“Federated Farmers has been a voice of reason on NAIT because there was an element of trying to run before you can walk. NAIT’s delay has saved farmers and taxpayers the risk of it becoming agriculture’s version of the nine-figure debacle that was the Integrated National Crime Information System (INCIS), abandoned in 1999.

“What this delay brings is opportunity. We don’t wish to re-litigate the past, but clearly Government wants a mandatory system whereas Federated Farmers preference was for a market-led productivity driven scheme.

“Since Government is clear that it wants compulsion, then we need a system that will generate real value to farmers. It should be about improving the farmer’s bottom line by demonstrating real productive value inside the farm gate.

“We’d like to sit down with NAIT Limited and MAF to discuss how the scheme can be further improved like using Ultra High Frequency (UHF-RFID) tags that enables data to be stored and manipulated.

“The delay also brings closer alignment with the rural broadband initiative that is pretty much critical for farmers being able to work the system. We’d be keen to see how this all meshes with the work now going into precision farming.

“Whatever happens, Federated Farmers is committed to improving productivity, so long as it is done profitably,” Mr McKenzie concluded.

For a copy of Federated Farmers NAIT submission to the Primary Production Select Committee, please click here.