How Data is Transforming the Future of Livestock

23/10/2025

Recognizing the crucial role that livestock plays in supporting livelihoods, nutrition, and economic growth, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in collaboration with CIRAD and the World Bank has developed the new Livestock Sector Investment and Policy Toolkit (LSIPT) Web Application, officially launched on 30 September during the FAO Global Conference on Sustainable Livestock Transformation. This sophisticated yet user-friendly digital platform is designed to move decision-making into the realm of data-driven strategy.

At its core, the LSIPT WebApp gives users the ability to model the future of the livestock sector with remarkable precision. It establishes a 20-year baseline to forecast key indicators such as animal populations, production, income, and household vulnerability, while allowing users to simulate the effects of shocks like droughts, disease outbreaks, or targeted investments. This flexibility enables policymakers to compare alternative scenarios, calculate returns on investment, and identify the most effective actions to reduce poverty and strengthen food security.

According to Manon Hamon, LSIPT Coordinator at FAO, “the results generated by the LSIPT WebApp are easily leveraged to drive stakeholder discussions and build consensus. To maximize the impact of policies and investments, it is crucial to harness coalitions, ensure transparency, and act on evidence-based data.”

From a technical perspective, the LSIPT WebApp represents a leap forward in analytical power. Where projects once lived in scattered Excel files, the LSIPT WebApp now turns complexity into clarity. Users can compare multiple investment scenarios side by side, better assess economic and financial outcomes, and visualize results through clear interactive dashboards that make insights easier to interpret and communicate. Integrated analytical modules bring together economic, financial, and productivity data into one intuitive view, while interactive charts and filters make data visualization intuitive and actionable.

Claudio Lavacca, full stack developer with the Digital FAO and Agro-informatics Division of FAO, observed that “from a digital point of view, and beyond, moving from the spreadsheets to smart systems is about much more than just a software improvement. The example of the LSIPT WebApp reflects FAO’s ongoing commitment to create a digital ecosystem with platforms that are scalable, collaborative, and continuously improving”.

With centralized updates, automatic backups, and multilingual support, every user benefits instantly from enhancements and bug fixes. Available in English, French, and Spanish, the LSIPT WebApp can also be combined with other FAO solutions to assess environmental and public health impacts.

By translating data into insight and insight into action, this tool demonstrates how the digital transition is helping countries build a more sustainable future for people, animals, and the planet.