ROWENA MCNAUGHTON | Farm Weekly

DISEASE, environmental and social concerns associated with the world’s burgeoning livestock population are not being appropriately addressed by political leaders and needs urgent attention from a united voice, says world animal health expert Dr Keith Sumption.

Dr Sumption, the European Commission secretary for the Food Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations, says policy makers need to support small-scale farmers as the world’s livestock production moves away from traditional to large-scale commercial holdings in order to limit production, social, environmental and disease pressures.

And he said this was particularly important to halt the spread of Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD).

Dr Sumption said control of FMD might be integral for exporting countries, but it cuts across health and environmental agendas because enhanced control of the disease would lead to increased food production and greater efficient use of water and feed resources.

He said the fact that around 2.6 billion livestock lived in FMD endemic countries which had an infection rate of between 5-10pc – Asia alone has 800 million head – meant that the cost of not controlling FMD needed to be re-addressed.

He said the industry should not just be looking at FMD control in terms of just direct losses, but the impact on production long term.

“In relation to livelihoods and food security, livestock play an integral role, with one billion people and 60pc of rural households worldwide keeping livestock,” Dr Sumption told delegates at the international FMD symposium in Melbourne last week.

“There is an urgency to act because rapid expansion and change in the livestock sector is happening.”

Net livestock production accounted for around 40pc of the agriculture sub-sector last year, and Dr Sumption said FAO investigations had identified this figure was likely to grow by a further 20pc by 2018 and to double by 2050.

“There are some major issues associated with that,” Dr Sumption said.

“It’s a very complex situation and if the proper balance is not taken than all our futures are in the balance.”