Biosecurity enhanced through training, evaluation and rising awareness

Biosecurity is of paramount importance to prevent the introduction and spread of pathogens and, consequently, to preserve the health of farmed animals. Healthier animals result in better animal welfare, better sustainability of animal production systems and less antimicrobial use. Despite these benefits, biosecurity is limited by different factors: i) lack of knowledge on ways for improvement, especially in extensive systems or settings with low resources; ii) shortage of adequate ways to enhance communication; iii) diversity of methodologies to assess and measure the implementation of biosecurity measures and their cost-effectiveness and iv) low number of trained professionals. To approach these challenges, the Action will first evaluate how biosecurity is currently used and will use participative approaches to understand motivators and barriers for biosecurity implementation. Knowledge generated through them will act as the baseline upon which to develop adequate communication and training on biosecurity. The Action will also perform a comparison of existing methods used to evaluate and measure biosecurity. Exploiting these tools will promote the development of tailored options in different farms based on the evaluation of their risks, on the feasibility of selected biosecurity measures and on their economic benefits. Moreover, the Action will identify the training needs through the evaluation of existing training materials and will develop new training courses, increasing therefore the number of trained professionals. Finally, the Action will recommend priority research areas for future biosecurity improvement in animal production systems. The Action objectives will be achieved through a transdisciplinary group where Early Career Investigators will play a key role in their attainment.