At the FAO Global Conference for Actions on One Health in Agrifood Systems, WFO and its members called for farmers to help shape policies and investments and to have access to the services, finance and support needed to implement them.

Farmers often see risks before anyone else. They notice changes in animals, crops, water or feed, and they are among the first to bear the consequences when disease, pests or environmental pressures affect production and income.

This experience should inform the design of One Health policies and investments. That was the message brought by the World Farmers’ Organisation (WFO) and its members to the FAO Global Conference for Actions on One Health in Agrifood Systems, held in Rome from 21 to 23 September.

Across sessions on rural education, technical assistance, research, youth engagement and finance, WFO and its members returned to the same point: farmers cannot be treated only as those responsible for implementation; they must be partners in shaping policy and investment.

Farmers are already implementing One Health

At the side event “From Farm to Global Health: Rural Education and Technical Assistance as Drivers for the Implementation of the One Health Approach,” organised by WFO member Confederação da Agricultura e Pecuária do Brasil (CNA), WFO Secretary General Andrea Porro focused on the role farmers already play.

Biosecurity, vaccination, responsible antimicrobial use and the safe management of water and manure all depend on decisions taken on farms. Farmers need the knowledge and tools to make those decisions, as well as access to veterinary and plant health services, diagnostics, vaccines, and appropriate infrastructure.

“Implementation is not a technical detail at the end of the policy cycle. It is where One Health succeeds or fails,” Porro said.

The costs and benefits of One Health measures also need to be shared more fairly. Reporting an animal disease, for example, can protect public health and food systems while putting an individual farm’s income at risk. Compensation, insurance and other risk-sharing arrangements can make reporting possible without jeopardising farmers’ businesses.

Porro called for farmers’ organisations to be recognised as formal partners in the design, governance and monitoring of One Health strategies and national action plans. They can bring knowledge from farms into policy discussions, identify barriers before measures are introduced and reach farmers through networks they already know and trust.

Different farming systems, practical experience

The side event also brought together experience from Brazil and New Zealand, showing how technical assistance and research can be organised around farmers’ needs.

Eduardo Gomes de Oliveira, Director of Technical and Managerial Assistance at SENAR, presented the Brazilian model of technical and managerial assistance. It combines advice on production with farm management, continuing education and family involvement.

Income is central to the model because it gives farms the economic foundation to improve living conditions, manage natural resources and create opportunities for the next generation. Knowledge of good practices supports animal and plant health, while digital tools and remote assistance help farmers continue managing independently after direct on-farm support ends.

Rowena Hume, General Manager of Policy & Communications at WFO member Beef + Lamb New Zealand, described how farmers help determine research priorities and take part in turning research into practice.

©WFO

Field days, focused farmer groups and peer-to-peer learning allow producers to see how practices and technologies work under farm conditions. This is increasingly relevant as changing weather patterns affect animal health, parasite pressure and infrastructure.

Research into genetics, grazing management and digital tools can provide new options, but only if they are accessible and suited to the farming system in which they will be used.

From participation to influence

The question of who shapes decisions was also central to WFO’s contribution to the Global Youth Forum on One Health in Agrifood Systems.

WFO Senior Officer Maria Giulia De Castro argued that youth engagement cannot be measured simply by attendance at international events. Young people need the capacity, networks, and space to contribute effectively, while knowledge and experience gained through global discussions must be returned to the local level.

© FAO/Alessandra Benedetti

For young farmers, One Health is part of everyday life through interactions among people, animals, ecosystems, and food production.

“How do we move from meaningful participation to meaningful influence? And, more concretely, what mechanisms can institutions put in place to ensure that young people’s knowledge, experience and solutions actually feed into decision-making and policies?” De Castro asked.

The same issue arose during the plenary session “Opportunities for Investment to Scale One Health in Agrifood Systems.”

WFO Advocacy, Policy and Partnerships Lead Luisa Volpe asked institutions and investors to begin with how they can work with farmers, rather than why farmers have not adopted solutions developed for them.

Farmers are private-sector actors, so proposed solutions must make economic sense for their businesses and families. They also operate under very different climatic, economic and production conditions. Weather, soil, available labour, the amount a farm can invest and access to local financial institutions all affect whether a proposed practice or technology can work. Training and support may also be needed while a new approach is introduced.

© FAO/Alessandra Benedetti

Farmers’ organisations connect these realities with the work of institutions, companies, banks and research bodies. They can help assess whether a proposal responds to an actual need, how it should be adapted and what implementation will require.

“Farmers do not want to be merely the recipients of decisions. They want to co-design the solutions,” Volpe said.

Across the Conference, WFO asked institutions, investors and partners to involve farmers’ organisations before policies and investment plans are finalised. Proposals intended for farms also need to be tested against local conditions and backed by the technical support, services, finance and risk-sharing required for implementation.

One Health action must be developed with farmers from the start, not simply delivered to them at the end.