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Biosecurity Showcase pushes investment in Australia’s livestock future

22 Feb

Over 100 representatives from government, industry and other organisations involved in animal biosecurity convened at the Animal Biosecurity Investment Showcase to discuss the future of Australia’s biosecurity system, and the research, development and extension required to get there.

Held virtually on 4 November 2020 by the National Animal Biosecurity Research, Development and Extension Strategy (NABRDES) Implementation Committee, the event featured presentations from experts in the field of the 3D (destruction, disposal and decontamination) and in livestock biosecurity-focused social science research. The aim of the workshop was to bring together key players in the R&D space to identify priorities and gaps in Australia’s animal biosecurity system and come up with ways to address them.

The virtual event was a huge success, allowing attendees to workshop project ideas related to 12 specific issues derived from the presentation topics. As a result, almost 30 project concepts were put forward for further exploration.

Dr Simon Humphreys, Executive Manager, Biosecurity and Animal Health Systems at Animal Health Australia said that this is a great result.

“It was fantastic to get this level of engagement from participants at this event. We now have some promising project concepts ranging from running surveys to inform best practice communications and messaging, to the creation of digital tools to help with on-farm preparedness and the development of training and extension programs to increase biosecurity capability,” said Dr Humphrys.

“These project concepts will now be examined by the NABRDES Implementation Committee and many will be prioritised for progression through funded projects over the next 12 months. These initiatives will help us strengthen Australia’s biosecurity system, so that it is well equipped to meet current and future challenges.”

The Showcase also received positive feedback from delegates with one participant stating that, “The talks were really interesting and the people in my breakout room were really engaged and enthusiastic.” Another attendee commented that the event “was really well run, and the material was interesting, relevant and covered so much ground!”

Check out the full report here to find out more.