Cargill, Ausvet, Heifer International, and the IPC will increase the capacity of government, agribusinesses & farmers
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has tapped a consortium led by Cargill and including Ausvet, Heifer International, and the International Poultry Council (IPC) to improve livestock management and combat the threat of zoonotic diseases to both human and animal health. The five-year, $33 million Transformational Strategies for Farm Output Risk Mitigation (TRANSFORM) 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, TRANSFORM will prioritize efforts to significantly decrease the risks of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and zoonoses, diseases spread from animals to humans such as foodborne pathogens, anthrax and Avian and swine influenza. The group will also consider transboundary animal diseases (TADs,) 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, and 75% of new or emerging infectious diseases in people come from animals.
Together, Cargill, Ausvet, Heifer International and the IPC will increase the capacity of government, agribusinesses, and farmers to prevent and, if needed, identify and quickly respond to these threats to human health.
TRANSFORM will work in several key geographies, on large and small farms, with a variety of species.
- Ausvet will expand its health information system to serve farms of all sizes in Indonesia and Vietnam.
- Heifer International will work with smallholder farmers in India and Kenya to improve biosecurity and animal management and health, with the added benefit of increasing farmer incomes.
- IPC will lead the development and adoption of industry-wide principles, policies and standards around antimicrobial stewardship within the poultry industry.
