International Symposium on Sustainable Animal Production and Health - Current Status and Way Forward

Systems of livestock production in developing countries are becoming progressively more intensified as producers and traders respond to increasing demands from consumers in urbanized societies for milk, meat, other livestock products and animals.

This includes the challenges of increasing productivity without degrading feed and genetic resources, and of ensuring that diseases of a transboundary or zoonotic nature are early recognized and brought under control. Increasing demand can only be met through the selection of animals that produce more meat and milk and show disease resistance and heat tolerance; the optimal utilization of local resources that simultaneously protects animal biodiversity and the environment; and the protection of animals and their caretakers from diseases.

It is necessary to assess and manage the risks and the opportunities arising from intensification and to control emerging and re-emerging animal and zoonotic diseases to minimize adverse effects on farmers’ livelihoods. In turn, this requires developing capacities to adapt and foster the application of the appropriate production and protection enhancing technologies, as well as sound and mutually supportive policies.

The symposium will draw on lessons learned and current best practices to provide a roadmap for the sustainable improvement of animal production whilst protecting the environment. The focus of the symposium will be on the contributions and impact of nuclear technologies and applications.

The objectives of the symposium are to provide information and share knowledge on modern and novel technologies in animal production and health, and their application to support sustainable livestock production systems. Besides, to identify capacity and research needs and to address gaps and new opportunities for the effective transfer of nuclear and nuclear derived/related technologies and building capacities for ameliorating or solving factors that are limiting livestock productivity and causing animal diseases.

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22–26 June 2020
Vienna, Austria

Original source: IAEA
Published on 28 April 2020