Katsina, MTN partner on solution to tackle cattle rustling

The Katsina government and leading telecommunications firm, MTN, have launched Animal Identification Management Solution (AIMS) at Runka Game Reserve to check cattle theft in the state.

The unveiling followed extensive consultation and live demonstrations with leaders and members of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) in the state as well as Kano and Kaduna.

The solution, powered by MTN, AIMS utilises microchips, about the size of a grain of rice, embedded in each animal. These chips use passive Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology, allowing law enforcement agents, veterinarians, owners, sellers, transporters and other relevant parties easily determine the ownership and origins of animals using handheld scanners and a short code.

During the event in Katsina, Governor Aminu Bello Masari said the state went into the venture to heed the call by the Federal Government to diversify the economy into agriculture and contain security challenges posed by cattle rustling and related vices.

He called on his colleagues to key into the project so as to effectively tackle the menace in the entire northern region.

His words: “I want to inform this gathering that our effort to accommodate this proposal being supported by MTN is consistent with the World Organisation for Animal Health. We are all living witness to the unfortunate emergency of cattle rustling and its implications.

“I therefore call on my colleagues, the executive governors of states in the North West and East to take a cue from our initiative so that together we will check the phenomenon.”