As part of a regional initiative to improve animal health, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is implementing a project on ruminant biosecurity in the Black Sea Basin, with funding from the U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA).

The project focused on the development and implementation of a comprehensive training program on improving ruminant biosecurity, targeting the main stakeholders, such as livestock owners, veterinarians and other relevant actors. The program blended multi-lingual virtual training through the Virtual Learning Centre (VLC) and face-to-face national training.

In Georgia, FAO organized ten biosecurity training sessions for meat and dairy producers, reaching 149 livestock farmers across the country. These one-day trainings provided comprehensive knowledge about: the main principles of biosecurity; risks associated with the movement of animals, vehicles and people; sharing farm equipment; feed and water; as well as biosecurity in relation to livestock markets and dairy farms.

During the training, the FAO trainers delivered interactive presentations by focusing on the key biosecurity risks, as well as methods for minimizing them using good management practices.

“Preventing ruminant diseases is essential not only for protecting livestock but also for safeguarding public health,” said Anuki Natsvlishvili, Veterinary and Food Safety Extension Specialist of FAO. “Better biosecurity helps farmers reduce losses, produce safer food, and compete more effectively in local and international markets. The strong participation in these trainings shows how committed Georgian farmers are to raising standards in the meat and dairy sectors.”

“The biosecurity trainings provide valuable insights for the Georgian meat and dairy farmers and equip them with knowledge and know-how. Improving biosecurity is a challenging endeavour but reaching out and providing knowledge where it is needed the most is key to improve resilience of the livestock sector,” said Mark Hovari, Animal Health Preparedness Expert of FAO.

___

This work is aligned with the principles of FAO’s Progressive Management Pathway for Terrestrial Animal Biosecurity, which is FAO’s institutional initiative to support Member States at strengthening biosecurity in livestock value chains.

___

The effort depicted is sponsored by the United States Department of Defense, Defense Threat Reduction Agency. The content of the information does not necessarily reflect the position or the policy of the Federal Government of the United States, and no official endorsement should be inferred.

We would also like to acknowledge the United States DoD DTRA Cooperative Threat Reduction Program’s support of project HDTRA1-19-1-0037 – “Global Framework for the Progressive Control of Transboundary Animal Diseases (GF-TADs).

___

2023/12/27 - 2023 in review: the FAO Virtual Learning Centre—more students, more impact and more to come in 2024

2024/03/27 - FAO boosts animal health training with accredited online courses

2024/07/02 - Over 900 ruminant veterinarians study strengthened farm biosecurity practices