Does the Introduction of RFID Technology Improve Livestock Subsidy Management?: A Success Story from an Arab Country

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY While the expected benefits and challenges of RFID technology have been well studied in the manufacturing and service sectors at the private organization level, there is little understanding of these two issues when exploring RFID adoption in the agricultural field and at the public organizational level. Previous tracking programs in Kuwait have been unsuccessful in reducing illegal activities that lead to fraud and the wasting of public money in animal feed programs. To alleviate these problems, an RFID program, supported by information systems, was designed to help monitor and control feed distribution and animal tracking. Unlike previous studies, this case study describes the application of RFID for the tracking and monitoring of livestock by the Kuwait Public Authority of Agriculture Affairs and Fish Resources in Kuwait. It reviewed the subsidy process before and after RFID adoption and found a large reduction in the actual number of animals claimed after RFID adoption which reduced fraud and increased animal accountability.