Reducing anthelmintic inputs in organic farming: Are small ruminant farmers integrating alternative strategies to control gastrointestinal nematodes?

Autor: Caroline Chylinski, Spiridoula Athanasiadou, Susann Thüer, Christian Grovermann, Simon Moakes, Hervé Hoste, Saulius Petkevicius, Cynthia Verwer, Jan Verkaik, Steffen Werne
Přispěvatelé: Scotland's Rural College (SRUC), Research Institute of Organic Agriculture - Forschungsinstitut für biologischen Landbau (FiBL), Interactions hôtes-agents pathogènes [Toulouse] (IHAP), Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire de Toulouse (ENVT), Institut National Polytechnique (Toulouse) (Toulouse INP), Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université de Toulouse (UT)-Institut National Polytechnique (Toulouse) (Toulouse INP), Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université de Toulouse (UT)-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE), Lithuanian University of health Sciences [Kaunas], Louis Bolk Institute (LBI), Wageningen University and Research [Wageningen] (WUR), Financial support for this project was provided by transnational funding bodies, being partners of the FP7 ERA-net project (ProPara), CORE Organic Plus, and the co-fund from the European Commission (Grant agreement No. 618107). SRUC acknowledges funding by the Scottish Government. We also acknowledge the acquisition of survey data by Florence Arsonneau (FiBL-France)., European Project: 618107,EC:FP7:KBBE,FP7-ERANET-2013-RTD,CORE ORGANIC PLUS(2013)
Rok vydání: 2023
Předmět:
Zdroj: Veterinary Parasitology 315 (2023)
Veterinary Parasitology
Veterinary Parasitology, 2023, 315, pp.109864. ⟨10.1016/j.vetpar.2022.109864⟩
Veterinary Parasitology, 315
ISSN: 0304-4017
Popis: International audience; Highlights: • Organic farmers are well informed on alternatives to anthelmintics but a few put them into practice. • The determinants of anthelmintic drench frequency are variable at different systems of production. • Targeted Selective Treatment is not commonly incorporated by organic farmers. • Dairy goat and meat sheep organic production systems have distinct approaches for nematode control.Abstract:To counter the global spread of anthelmintic resistance (AR), considerable efforts have been invested in the development and dissemination of sustainable alternatives to control gastrointestinal nematode (GIN) infections in small ruminants. The degree to which these have been accepted and integrated by farmers, particularly in organic systems, where the drive to reduce chemical inputs is arguably even more pressing, has been little studied. To identify whether more comprehensive actions are needed to support the uptake of alternative GIN controls amongst organic farmers, this study conducted a survey in five European countries on organic dairy goat and meat sheep farmers to gain insight into current GIN control strategies and farmer attitudes towards AR and alternative measures in these countries. The structured survey was disseminated in the five European countries Switzerland, France, Netherlands, Lithuania and United Kingdom, receiving a total of 425 responses, 106 from organic dairy goat farmers and 319 from organic meat sheep farmers. Regression analyses were carried out to identify factors impacting anthelmintic drenching on meat sheep production systems, whereas all data were analysed descriptively. Four key findings emerged: i) The frequency of anthelmintic treatments averaged less than two per animal a year in all production systems; ii) Overall, organic farmers seemed well informed on the availability of alternative GIN control methods, but fewer stated to put them into practice; iii) Targeted selective treatment (TST) strategies of anthelmintics appears to be not commonly incorporated by organic farmers; iv) Despite operating under national and EU organic regulations, each of the organic dairy goat (Switzerland, France and Netherlands) and meat sheep (Switzerland, Lithuania and United Kingdom) production systems developed distinct approaches for GIN control. To increase uptake of alternatives to GIN control and optimise anthelmintic use, initiatives that promote research dissemination, farmer participatory and knowledge transfer activities at national level would be desirable.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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