Investing in Animal Health: Biosecurity, the Cornerstone of Sustainable Livestock Farming

Rome, 2025 – At the FAO side event “Investing in Animal Health” during the Global Conference on Sustainable Livestock Transformation, experts and policymakers converged on a critical message: diseases know no borders, and prevention must take precedence over crisis response.

On this occasion, Dr. Huyam Salih, Director of AU-IBAR, underscored that biosecurity is the cornerstone of livestock transformation, food security, and the integrated One Health approach. She cautioned that Africa too often invests only after crises occur, calling instead for sustained prevention, coordination, and long-term investment to protect rural livelihoods and strengthen value chain resilience.

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Key Messages from AU-IBAR

✅ “Every dollar invested in prevention saves ten in response.”

✅ Biosecurity is the first line of defense against transboundary animal diseases such as African swine fever.

✅ Strong biosecurity enhances productivity, market access, and the fight against antimicrobial resistance.

✅ AU-IBAR is leading the African Animal Health Strategy and the Continental Strategy for ASF Control, coordinating action across borders.

✅ The future lies in community-based interventions, innovation, and linking biosecurity with trade incentives.

^{FAO’s Perspective}

Dr. Thanawat Tiensin, FAO Assistant  Director-General and Director of the Animal Production and Health Division, emphasized that prevention is paramount:

• Biosecurity must be applied throughout the value chain  from farm to market, across borders, and in transport.

• Every weak link fuels transmission.

• Global crises such as avian influenza remind us that coordinated international action is the only way to protect both producers and consumers.

• Sustainable transformation begins with systematic prevention, not reaction.

Panelists’ Insights

The panel featured diverse global voices, all underscoring that biosecurity must become a sustainable and institutionalized practice:

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  Dr. Huyam Salih, AU-IBAR: “Biosecurity must become a routine and institutionalised practice, driven by governments, supported by the private sector, and continuously monitored for sustainability.”

• Juan Carlos Domínguez, ChileCarne: “Collaboration must transcend silos between public and private sectors, but also among private actors themselves. Shared responsibility must guide every step.”

• Paul Welcher, USDA/US Mission to the UN: “Biosecurity is complex but essential. We must remain faithful to its principles, even when their application raises commercial or regulatory challenges.”

• Prof. Jean-Pierre Vaillancourt, WABA: “Rules are only valuable if they become everyday practice. Biosecurity must be experienced in the field, where farmers work and animals live.”