Red Meat Industry Services (RMIS) announced on Thursday that new features on the RMIS Traceability Platform are now live across the value chain to support trade amid the ongoing Foot and Mouth Disease outbreak.
Image: GAPON / AFP
The Red Meat Industry Services (RMIS) has introduced new features on its traceability platform, aimed at strengthening trade continuity across South Africa’s red meat value chain as the country continues to battle the Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) outbreak.
RMIS said that the upgraded functionality is now live and accessible to producers through its free mobile application. The enhanced system enables farmers to confirm vaccine deliveries by scanning QR codes, record vaccinations for individual animals, and manage livestock movements more efficiently.
The organisation said the developments form part of its broader effort, launched in 2024, to build a practical digital ecosystem that embeds traceability into everyday farming operations.
The organisation emphasised that the benefits of this system are already being realised on the ground, particularly as traceability becomes a prerequisite for many buyers under current FMD conditions.
“With an estimated 40% of South Africa’s cattle owned by small-scale farmers, RMIS is working to ensure that all producers in the value chain can benefit from traceability,” it said.
RMIS said that it has ordered the first 130,000 Industry Traceability Tags (ITT) and secured an additional R7 million in private funding to support the initial rollout.
“The first 5,000 tags have already been dispatched, with further private funding being finalised to scale the programme to a total of 5 million tags.”
RMIS added that it has deployed 20 animal health technicians and four mobile processing units across provinces most affected by FMD, working in collaboration with provincial animal health departments to support the rollout.
“Producers engaging with technicians in the field will be assigned a Global Location Number (GLN) via the RMIS Traceability Platform and access the free mobile app — after which their animals will be tagged and vaccinated,” it said.
“By linking traceability, animal health, and digital access, RMIS is supporting a more coordinated industry that can respond under pressure while keeping trade operational,” concluded RMIS.
Bennie Van Zyl, TLU SA general manager, said welcomed the contribution of RMIS in the new developments on the traceability platform.
“We do believe that vaccines need to be delivered to South Africa on a faster basis. Traceability and how vaccines react is important. However, we believe that as more vaccines are administered, the faster we can get the sector back into trade and doing business.”
Van Zyl added that the movement of cattle needs to be regulated and monitored.
“However, we welcome the work of RMIS,” he said.
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