NAIT- asset or liability?

NAIT "“ asset or liability? The National Animal Identification and Tracing (NAIT) Scheme has been given approval to proceed by Cabinet. The scheme has been promoted on the basis of two key criteria. The first is increased biosecurity effectiveness, but initially covering only cattle and deer. The second being market access for NZ beef and venison products. Federated Farmers does not endorse this second and, seemingly, final business case or its presentation to Cabinet reports Scoop. While it's acknowledged that during the design and consultation period, the concerns of Federated Farmers and its membership were recognised and some key issues addressed, the final business case document fails to provide sufficient confidence that real on-farm value will be generated as a result of NAIT. Moreover, at a time when farmers are just recovering financially, this will add an additional cost and compliance burden alongside the Emissions Trading Scheme and early proposals for a Land Tax. The 2009 Ministry of Agriculture & Forestry's Situation and Outlook for New Zealand Agriculture & Forestry had farms receiving just 6.3 cents out of each export dollar generated. Biosecurity claims are an illusion While the intention to bring all cattle and deer under an individual identification scheme holds some merit, in reality this is a narrow range of risk animal species. It is therefore only a band-aid. A serious biosecurity breach, such as Foot and Mouth Disease, afflicts all cloven hoof animals; the UK's experience in the past decade being a good example. If the Government truly believes in a biosecurity basis to NAIT, then the Government must disclose to New Zealand's hard-pressed sheep farmers that it intends to enrol all cloven hoof animals into the NAIT scheme and when. If it does not, it confirms the biosecuirty basis to NAIT is without merit. The risks also go far deeper. It is estimated that several hundred thousand livestock live on small holdings/lifestyle blocks or even urban centres. Additionally, a large number of livestock are feral. The risk lays less on professional farms, which NAIT sets out to target, than where animals are unrecorded or effectively off the grid.