Operating under the FAO’s Committee on Agriculture (COAG), the Sub-Committee on Livestock serves as the primary intergovernmental forum tasked with building international consensus on biosecurity, smallholder farmer infrastructure, and transboundary pathogen control.India’s elevation to the Bureau directly positions the nation to represent the priorities of the Global South on the world stage.
Global Agenda: The Rome Plenary
The transition took place during the Fourth Session of the COAG Sub-Committee on Livestock, which held its plenary assemblies.Addressing the High-Level Ministerial Session in Rome, India’s Union Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying, Shri Rajiv Ranjan Singh, highlighted the nation’s immense livestock transformation and farmer-centric public initiatives.
Minister Singh emphasized that while India fully supports international biosecurity frameworks, the upcoming Global Plan of Action for Sustainable Livestock Transformation must remain a flexible “guiding framework” rather than a rigid, prescriptive mandate.He called on developed nations to facilitate technology transfers, accessible financing, and robust capacity building to support a gradual, phased transition across developing agricultural economies.
Scalable Blueprints: From Local to Global
As part of its expanded global stewardship, India presented several homegrown technical frameworks designed to serve as actionable templates for international deployment:
India detailed its ongoing execution of the National Digital Livestock Mission. By deploying digital identification tags to over 353 million animals, the government has constructed the world’s largest automated veterinary tracking network, offering a highly precise blueprint for real-time transboundary animal disease forecasting.
2. Large-Scale Prophylactic Operations
With a production capacity exceeding 1.2 billion veterinary vaccine doses annually, the Indian delegation presented its domestic multi-pathogen immunization infrastructure as a template for controlling devastating livestock epidemics in high-density farming corridors.
3. G20 Pandemic Fund Integration
Supported by a recent $25 million G20 Pandemic Fund grant, India has rolled out comprehensive animal health security upgrades. Working alongside technical implementation teams from the FAO, the Asian Development Bank (ADB), and the World Bank, the project bridges the critical interface between veterinary surveillance and human public health.
Consolidating Emerging Market Alliances
India’s leadership at the UN aligns with its broader commitments across emerging market coalitions. Parallel to the Rome sessions, the Press Information Bureau (PIB) Delhi confirmed that under its current institutional frameworks, India’s Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying successfully convened a high-level dialogue on Advanced Livestock Technology & Feed Systems.
The inter-governmental summit engaged specialized technical advisors alongside key delegations from Brazil, Russia, China, and South Africa. The discussions focused on standardizing decentralized digital disease networks and securing sustainable, climate-resilient livestock feed corridors across developing trade zones.
Outlook
With an 80-year foundational partnership linking India and the FAO, this vice-chairmanship marks a critical shift in how global livestock policies will be drafted.By embedding its smallholder-first philosophy into the Bureau, India is set to lead international efforts over the 2026–2029 policy cycle, ensuring global biosecurity targets are balanced with economic security and rural livelihood protections across the developing world.
