Page 24 - Vol. 39-No.4 issue

DAIRY FARMING

DIGITALIZING COWS IN GEORGIA

How women veterinarians are bolstering traceability and food safety in Georgia

nicians who are the pillars of the project, enjoyed working with technologies, such
working in the field to collect and record as computers, tablets and smartphones.
the data.
“We collect and digitalize information in-
“When it’s the vaccinating season, you cluding identification number of the bovine
can’t miss the day and dose, so we go to owners, the name of the farm and other
the farms every day early in the mornings information – we fill in the data through
and late in the evenings,” says Shorena. the cows’ tag numbers. Then we add the
With a syringe in one hand and a smart- information about vaccines,’’ Shorena
In February, when the streets of Sachk- phone in another, she walks across the explains excitedly and highlights that the
here, Georgia are covered with snow and queue of a few hundred cows, some of technological part of her job has been es-
temperatures reach -2 degrees Celsius which greet her, mooing, while others pecially interesting.
outside, 39-year-old Shorena Jambazishvili clumsily rub their foreheads against the This opportunity was also transforma-
collects her plastic gloves, new syringes, wooden fence to scratch their giant heads. tive for Shorena’s colleague, Tea Kvatadze,
some medicines and a smartphone and another woman veterinary technician in
makes her way to the farm. She chooses the bovine ready for the Sachkhere:
vaccine and smiles saying, “My family
It’s early morning, and it is time for the members find it difficult to have me out “Dealing with new technologies was easy
first round of vaccinations. Shorena, as of the home so often, however… because for us, and … brought us professional de-
a veterinary technician, works alongside they are not used to it.’’ velopment. They [the new technologies]
the veterinarian to vaccinate all the cows make our job look to the future, compared
in the municipality and then digitalize the to the times when we had been doing the
information. same with papers,’’ Tea said, adding, “It has
In the team of two, she is responsible for changed my life. The job is more enjoyable
inputting all data into Georgia’s online Na- when you love what you do.’’
tional Animal Identification and Traceability In 2022, 10 798 livestock were recorded
System (NAITS), which has revolutionized in the municipality of Sachkhere with help
the country’s animal traceability scheme of Shorena, Tea and their colleagues. Marina
in the past five years. Implemented by the Macharashvili, Regional Senior Inspector
Government of Georgia, with the techni- A new profession at the National Food Agency in Imereti,
cal assistance of the Food and Agriculture western Georgia, stated, “They work very
Organization of the United Nations (FAO), It was three years ago when Shorena actively; it is hard work I don’t want to
NAITS records the data of all livestock that decided to change her everyday routine sound biased; however, I want to mention
must be registered by law, their keepers of working as a housewife and learn a new that the women were particularly fast to
and keeping locations. profession. She decided to take courses to learn the computer, to surf through the
become a certified veterinary technician.
Tracing animals and animal-origin prod- NAITS with smartphones.’’
ucts in a prompt and timely manner through Shorena and her husband, Arsen, who is The National Traceability
NAITS is an integral part of the food safety also a veterinarian, have two children: Otar,
chain. By registering and verifying the origin 15 and Mariam, 13. Shorena recalls that System
and health of the animals at every step of some changes in the family’s routines were Local farmer, Ramaz Mghebrishvili, who
the value chain, NAITS ensures the delivery challenging for Otar and Mariam because runs a big farm of more than hundred cows,
of safe food from farm to table. they were used to having their mother underlines how the veterinarians and tech-
around all the time. However, her new job
Birth, origin, vaccination status, health nicians behind NAITS have made farmers'
condition and even colour of the animals promised them other benefits. lives easier:
are now easily searchable online. The in- “Of course, it has improved my financial “I am thankful the veterinarians and
formation helps buyers to make informed situation,” Shorena explained, adding, “But technicians are by our side when needed…
and healthy choices when selecting meat even more importantly, I learn from this Now it is not a big deal if you lose the cow
and other animal-origin products. For ex- experience. Every day I explore something
ample, customers can find QR codes on new. I educate myself in veterinary science,
the product that link to NAITS where they in various illnesses of the animals, and it
can look up the origin, age and other basic keeps me growing.’’
information related to the product they “The more education a woman gets, the
are about to buy. more independent she is... Independence
Currently, NAITS holds information about is crucial,” she states.
more than one million bovines, thanks in What’s more, this new education was also
large part to the veterinarians and tech- fun. Shorena and her colleagues particularly

22 Vol. 39 No. 4