The United States Agency for International Development has tapped a consortium led by Cargill to improve livestock management and combat the threat of diseases to both human and animal health.
The five-year, $33 million Transformational Strategies for Farm Output Risk Mitigation consortium will harness innovation to sustainably improve animal health, strengthen animal agriculture production systems in Asia and Africa and enhance global health security.
As a farm-based initiative, the effort will prioritize efforts to decrease the risks of antimicrobial resistance, diseases spread from animals to humans such as foodborne pathogens, anthrax and Avian and swine influenza. The group will also consider transboundary animal diseases, such as foot-and-mouth disease and African swine fever.
Scientists estimate that more than three out of five known infectious diseases in people can be spread from animals. The effort seeks to increase the capacity of government, agribusinesses, and farmers to prevent and, if needed, identify, and quickly respond to these threats to human health.
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