Kenya’s livestock sector is poised to benefit from a modern, data-driven system that empowers farmers and opens up premium markets for livestock products if the Animal Identification and Traceability (ANITRAC) Bill 2026 is passed.
The bill, currently undergoing public participation, seeks to provide for animal identification, registration and traceability systems and facilitate surveillance control and eradication of diseases.
It is also expected to improve quality and safety for animals and animal products and increase producer access to credit and animal insurance facilities using animals as collateral.
Domiciled at the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, the implementation of the proposed bill will be coordinated by the Cabinet Secretary, Director of Veterinary Services, county governments and the County Director of Veterinary Services.
The Cabinet Secretary will mobilise resources, provide policy direction and formulate the National Animal Identification and Traceability Strategy, while the Director of Veterinary Services will act as the competent Authority for applying animal identification and traceability guidelines and ratified treaties and conventions and standards on animal identification and traceability under this Act.
County governments will also be expected to develop county policies on animal identification and traceability, implement a strategy on animal identification and traceability at the county, mobilise resources for the implementation of the Act at the county and oversee the integration of the county systems into the National ANITRAC System.
According to the bill, the proposed establishment of the ANITRAC system will support the application of identification devices on animals individually or in batches, electronic transcription of identification codes using readers and use of transmission devices to upload information to the central database.
There will be a central database for the management of the ANITRAC system and the animal identification and traceability database shall capture prescribed animal identification information.
The System will be designated as critical information infrastructure and shall be accorded all the necessary safeguards to ensure protection from internal and external threats.
The Kenya National Livestock Research Agenda (2025-2035) by the Ministry of Agriculture indicates that the country’s livestock sub-sector contributes to 42 per cent of the agricultural gross domestic product (GDP) and 12 per cent to the national GDP while accounting for over 30 per cent of the total marketed agricultural products.
The new bill is set to boost the livestock sector by ensuring that ANITRAC provides the necessary farm-to-fork traceability to verify health and origin and meet the international trade requirements.
Currently, Kenya is required to comply with Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) standards while exporting meat and live animals to lucrative markets like the Middle East, the European Union, and the United States.
Speaking during a public participation exercise for stakeholders from Kisii, Nyamira, Migori and Homabay counties in Kisii town, Senior Deputy Director for Livestock Policy, Research and Regulations at the State Department for Livestock Development, Dr William Akwimbi, said the bill will enable farmers to leverage new technologies to identify and register their livestock as well as enhance access of the livestock to international markets.
“This ANITRAC bill is a further development of the Branding Act, which has been overtaken by events and will use new technologies to track any animal as it moves around,” noted Dr Akwimbi.
The Deputy Director pointed out that the system will also allow for rapid tracing of animals in case of disease outbreaks and prevent the spread of transboundary diseases.
He added that the digital tracking will ensure that farmers monitor their livestock in real-time, making it easier to recover stolen or lost animals.
The Department’s Director of Veterinary Services Dr Allan Kimutai, said they had successfully piloted the ANITRAC system in seven government farms and were now rolling it out to six targeted counties.
“We have done sensitisation to the local administration, the County Executive Committee Members, and the chief officers and have also conducted training for the County Directors of Livestock Production and Veterinary Services, who will be the trainers of trainers to carry out the training in the counties,” noted Dr Kimutai.
According to him, the system will use radio frequency identification devices (RFID), with the left ear displaying a visual tag and the right ear having an RFID microchip with a button ear tag that can be read to identify an animal.
In addition, the Director noted the system will be provided to farmers free of charge over the next five years to ensure that all animals are identified, tagged and registered.
By Mercy Osongo
