New Software to harmonize veterinary, livestock databases

Tirana, June 23, 2011 – Representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Consumer Protection, the Food Safety and Veterinary Institute, UNDP Albania, and the UNDP project “Improving the Performance of the Livestock Sector in Albania” participated in a ceremony to mark the handing over of the new “RUDA” software development as a part of the harmonization of the National Veterinary and Livestock Databases– accomplished in large part to UNDP Albania’s Livestock Project. The “RUDA” system is named after an important native sheep breed in Albania. The system was built in 2005 to manage small ruminants in a pilot project that included 10 districts in southeastern Albania. From 2005 to 2010 the system was in operation exclusively in these areas, while other systems were in place to manage bovine data in other parts of the country. Consequently, data consistency and management was identified as a challenge for the livestock sector at a national level. In the latter part of 2010, the UNDP Project “Improving the Performance of the Livestock Sector in Albania” co-financed by the European Union and the Italian Government, completed the first phase of new RUDA software database system. The main aim of the project was to create a single database for all livestock farms in Albania and the unification and harmonization of the existing animal information systems, in order to ensure that prompt and informed decisions can be taken by the Food Safety and Veterinary Institute regarding the effective and efficient retrieval of information on the location and movement of animals, their health status, and inventories. The information of the new RUDA can be shared with the other information systems, such as in the food safety sector. The handing ceremony also marked the beginning of a new phase for upgrading and widening the Albanian livestock information system to include other species and add new functionalities, especially in the area of animal disease control. Speaking at the event, Prof. Dr. Tokli Thomas, Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Food and Consumer Protection welcomed this achievement as essential in ensuring the provision of contemporary systems of data and information management as an integral part of the development of the Albanian livestock sector. The Deputy Minister went on to emphasize the fact that the new “RUDA” software system is a contribution to the preparatory phase of Albania’s adherence to European Union standards. Mr. Vladimir Malkaj, Cluster Manager at UNDP Albania, commended the results and highlighted that they showed excellent cooperation among various stakeholders and offices and noted that such established cooperation should be assessed with regard to the provision of other sustainable solutions in the sector. It was also noted that the contribution provided by UNDP and other United Nations Agencies in Albania in support of agriculture and rural development is fully oriented towards Albania’s European integration agenda and works to build its capacities by transferring relevant know-how and improving the management and governance of the sector. Dr. Ulrich Schmidt, International Project Manager of UNDPs Livestock project presented a review of the major steps that occurred in order to ensure the implementation of the work undertaken so far, and highlighted the value of collaboration and continuity in building the system. He also underlined the importance of working on a sustainable approach for animal identification and registration in Albania, as the starting point and basis for all livestock information systems. Dr. Arben Kipi, Head of the National Animal I&R Unit at the Food Safety and Veterinary Institute commented that the new harmonization of the “RUDA” software system makes it possible to integrate three basic veterinary and livestock information systems, which include: the Farm Register, the Animal Identification and Registration System, and the Animal Disease Information (ADI) System. What he considered to be the most important functionality of the new RUDA system, were the modules for data export and the improved management of veterinary measures.