South Africa unveils Phase 2 of red meat traceability platform
The RMIS Traceability Platform expands to link key livestock systems across the value chain, strengthening digital tracking in the red meat sector.
SOUTH AFRICA – South Africa’s red meat industry has taken another step toward full digital traceability following the launch of Phase 2 of the RMIS Traceability Platform in Pretoria.
The event, organised by the Red Meat Industry Services (RMIS), brought together Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen, sector leaders, organised agriculture, and technology partners.
Phase 2 integrates existing livestock management systems, allowing information to move securely and accurately between farms, auctions, feedlots, and abattoirs.
According to RMIS, this upgrade enables the industry to trace animal movements in real time while ensuring that farmers retain ownership and control of their data.
A key feature of the rollout is the new RMIS Movement App, a free tool developed for farmers who have not yet adopted digital systems.
Through the app, users can record and share animal movements without needing complex software, allowing smaller producers to join the traceability network.
How the system works
Each user in the value chain, whether a farmer, auction operator, feedlot, or abattoir, registers their location and receives a Global Location Number (GLN).
The GLN is linked to the user’s GPS coordinates and verified on the national map to provide transparent identification of every site involved in animal movements.
Once registered, the GLN is used whenever livestock are bought, sold, or relocated, ensuring that each transaction or movement is digitally recorded.
The RMIS Traceability Platform connects various livestock systems through an application programming interface (API), which allows the platforms to share data automatically.
This integration means that when an animal moves from one farm to another, the data can be transferred directly between systems without manual input.
RMIS stated that only movement data is shared, and only with user consent, adding that production or personal data remains private.
Data security and control
To participate in digital data sharing, each user must generate a Personal Access Token (PAT) on the RMIS Traceability Platform.
This token acts as a unique key, granting the user’s selected livestock management system permission to send or receive movement data securely.
The system is designed to protect privacy while creating a unified, transparent view of animal movements across the country.
RMIS said the expansion of the platform brings South Africa closer to achieving real-time disease tracking, improved export readiness, and broader inclusion of producers within the formal traceability framework.
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