Major initiative on ruminant biosecurity in the Black Sea region comes to an end

A five-year regional initiative by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) on better ruminant biosecurity has concluded last week with a workshop in Barcelona, Spain. The project has been supporting nine countries around the Black Sea Basin to improve disease prevention and control in ruminant livestock systems.

The workshop, hosted by the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), the key research partner in the project, brought together veterinary authorities and academic partners from the participating countries. 

Launched in 2020, the project addressed six transboundary and zoonotic diseases of ruminants that are a priority in the countries concerned – foot and mouth disease (FMD), lumpy skin disease (LSD), brucellosis, peste des petits ruminants (PPR), Crimean Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF), and anthrax – through integrated risk assessments, spatial modelling, and field-level studies. The findings informed a regional biosecurity strategy and a multilingual training programme targeting livestock owners, veterinarians, and other related actors.

The Barcelona workshop showcased results of disease-specific modelling and biosecurity field studies from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova, and Türkiye, including research on reproductive diseases in dairy cattle and biosecurity in live animal markets. It also features outcomes from FAO’s Improving Ruminant Biosecurity (IRB) training programme, implemented both online through FAO’s Virtual Learning Center and on the ground.

The event was held back-to-back with the First Conference on Animal Biosecurity, jointly organized by the World Animal Biosecurity Association (WABA) and the BETTER COST Action, allowing national experts to connect with the wider European research and policy community on biosecurity.

“Bringing together academia and veterinary services is essential – not just to present results, but to interpret what they mean for the country, and how they can be practically applied to improve disease management on the ground. This kind of dialogue helps ensure that research doesn’t remain on paper but is translated into action,” said Daniel Beltran-Alcrudo, technical advisor on animal health at FAO. “In many countries, strong links between science and services have proven key to building more resilient and responsive animal health systems. We hope this exchange fosters similar collaboration moving forward.” 

As the project draws to a close, the workshop has also explored opportunities for a second phase, including expanded studies and deeper collaboration between veterinary services and academia.

The work under the project is aligned with the principles of FAO’s Progressive Management Pathway for Terrestrial Animal Biosecurity, which is the Organization’s institutional initiative to support Members at strengthening biosecurity in livestock value chains.
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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).