Submit forms or face farm closures

The agriculture ministry has urged farmers to urgently submit their outstanding animal health declaration forms, saying a failure to submit them can result in farm closures. The ministry's acting chief veterinary officer Siegfried Khaiseb said all pending forms should be submitted by 31 July.Animal health declaration forms are an official declaration that must be completed by all livestock farmers every six months, Khaiseb said. The declaration period is from January to June and July to December each year. Khaiseb said it is compulsory that livestock farmers submit their declarations, which must reach the district state veterinary office within 30 days after the end of each reporting period.“Nevertheless, very few farmers have submitted these forms,” he said.Khaiseb stressed that the information collected through this initiative is crucial for planning, decision-making and policy formulation by the Directorate of Veterinary Services (DVS), as well as by other institutions. The Meat Board of Namibia also urged produces to submit these forms.“Producers must submit the Directorate of Veterinary Services (DVS) animal health declarations twice per annum,” the Meat Board said.According to the Meat Board, data collected through the submission of these self-declarations are used for animal disease control, the tracking of animal disease trends as well as for compulsory reporting to the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE).The Meat Board said because of the poor response from producers, in terms of submitting these declarations, the DVS has decided to restrict stock brands and the establishments of producers who fail to submit the declarations on time. Khaiseb added that due to the poor submissions, the DVS has set a deadline for all livestock farmers to submit all pending forms before or by latest on 31 July. “Failure to submit will result in the closure of the establishment/farm until such a time that the required documentation is submitted.”Declarations can be submitted electronically on NamLITS Online. Declaration forms can be downloaded on the Meat Board website and are also available at state veterinary offices.ELLANIE SMIT

Submit forms or face farm closures

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Namibian Sun 2025-07-02

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Submit forms or face farm closures

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Namibian Sun 2025-07-02

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