The socio-economic benefit of the livestock traceability system on communal beef farmers in Swaziland

Abstract

Swaziland is a small African country that implemented a livestock traceability system to benefit both communal and commercial farmers. The communal farmers are also able to export beef to European countries, markets that were previously unavailable to them, due to the successful implementation of the Swaziland Livestock Information and Traceability System (SLITS). Livestock traceability is briefly explained in the context of the importance of safe food production for human consumption, and a few aspects are highlighted. The traceability system is further explained including its benefit to the rural economy, its role in growing the GDP and the realization of its aims as was initially expected by the Swazi Government. The data collection methods were a document review, a case study and five interviews. We conclude that livestock traceability systems should be more widely adopted by other developing countries as they have a direct effect on the improvement of the socio-economic conditions of the rural poor. Their development and implementation remain very expensive, but Swaziland is an example of a country able to reap the rewards from a commodity that is ample in their country, but scarce globally, leading to wider food sustainability.