Project description
Best practices lading to sustainable parasitic worm control in grazing livestock
Ruminant animals including cattle, sheep, goats and buffalo are the largest livestock production system in the world according to the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations. They produce more than half of all protein produced by the livestock sector. Ruminants are exposed to helminths, worm-like parasites, which can cause severe disease, significantly decreasing productivity with important economic consequences for farmers. Like bacteria and antibiotics, excessive use of anthelmintics has led to resistance. The EU-funded SPARC project intends to identify good practices for sustainable worm control in different production systems and regions and demonstrate them on pilot farms. Wide dissemination in many languages of knowledge gained will spur a lasting collaboration within the field of sustainable helminth resistance.
Objective
Ruminant farming is critically important in maintaining the viability of rural communities and ensuring food security. Because grazing ruminants are permanently exposed to helminth parasites, efficient worm control is a requirement to guarantee their health, welfare and productivity. Worm control is largely based on preventive use of anthelmintic drugs, but excessive use of anthelmintics has led to anthelmintic resistance, which has become a global threat for effective parasite control. To mitigate anthelmintic resistance in ruminants, sustainable worm control (SWC) strategies should be adopted.
The SPARC Community of Practice of farmers, farm advisors and veterinarians will identify needs, practices, barriers and drivers for adoption of SWC practices, develop a list of good practices for SWC in different production systems and regions and demonstrate them on pilot farms. National and international stakeholder networks will share SWC practices among farmers, across borders and production systems (beef and dairy cattle, meet and milk sheep and goats). Dissemination of experiences and results will be facilitated by a Knowledge Exchange Platform on the SPARC website, hosting testimonies, case studies, videos, practice abstracts and decision support tools, available in local languages. SPARC activities and results will be communicated on social media and in professional journals. Overall, SPARC will initiate a lasting European-wide multi-actor community that develops solutions together to curb anthelmintic resistance, aiding in the green transition of European agriculture.
Fields of science
- agricultural sciencesanimal and dairy sciencedairy
- social scienceseconomics and businesseconomicsproduction economicsproductivity
- medical and health scienceshealth sciencesnutrition
- agricultural sciencesagriculture, forestry, and fisheriesagriculture
- agricultural sciencesanimal and dairy sciencedomestic animalsanimal husbandry
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
HORIZON-CSA - HORIZON Coordination and Support ActionsCoordinator
9820 Merelbeke
Belgium