Farmers and vets working in the dairy, pig, beef and sheep sectors on the island of Ireland are being asked to complete a survey to provide their views on how antibiotics are used in agriculture.

As part of OneHealth, efforts to address the global challenge of antimicrobial resistance, legislative and policy changes are being introduced at European and national level centred on agricultural antibiotic use.

The European Commission’s Farm to Fork strategy has set a 2030 target of reducing sales of antimicrobials for farmed animals and in aquaculture by 50%, while the EU will introduce new regulations in 2022 on veterinary medicinal products and medicated feed.

This shift can only be achieved through understanding farmers’ and vets’ needs

In advance of such changes, the survey aims to understand the current behaviours and views of farmers and vets with respect to antibiotic use.

Research fellow from Queen’s University Belfast (QUB) Dr Claire McKernan said: “This shift can only be achieved through understanding farmers’ and vets’ needs and helping them to address any necessary changes at farm level.”

Top-down policy

Teagasc research officer and principal investigator of the safefood project Dr Áine Regan reinforced the need to capture the opinions of farmers and vets in the area of antibiotic use in advance of policy-driven changes.

Top-down policy changes work best when supported by bottom-up initiatives

“It is vital that we assess the preparedness of farmers and vets to navigate the incoming regulations and identify resources that will support them through this major transition.

“Top-down policy changes work best when supported by bottom-up initiatives. In the safefood project, we are developing supports that will help farmers, farm advisers and vets to work together in a collaborative way to improve animal health on farms and reduce the need for antibiotic use.”

The study forms part of a larger cross-border project led by Teagasc and funded by safefood. This safefood project, involves the collaboration of psychologists, veterinarians and animal health scientists from, QUB, University College Dublin and Teagasc to understand behaviours and attitudes around antibiotic use and explore how to support farmers and vets make positive changes to ensure responsible antibiotic usage in agriculture.

The survey can be completed online here.