ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s food security ministry signed an agreement with a Denmark-based research organisation on Wednesday to fund a USD 540,855 poultry trial testing alternatives to antibiotics.
Under the agreement, the International Centre for Antimicrobial Resistance Solutions (ICARS) will finance a three-year project. The University of Agriculture Faisalabad will lead the research alongside the Poultry Research Institute in Rawalpindi.
Researchers will test organic acids through a randomised controlled trial across 30 poultry farms. Half will receive the intervention; the remaining farms will serve as controls.
Rodolphe Mader, ICARS senior science adviser for veterinary sciences, said researchers aim to reduce antimicrobial treatments by at least 20% without compromising productivity. They will measure antibiotic consumption, antimicrobial resistance, poultry health and farm performance.
The study will also assess whether farmers can afford to adopt the alternatives.
In a separate project announcement, the university described plans to test organic acids in broiler farms’ drinking water. Its researchers will examine economic and behavioural barriers affecting adoption by farmers and veterinarians.
Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research Rana Tanveer Hussain attended the virtual signing ceremony with ministry officials, ICARS representatives and researchers.
Hussain said antimicrobial resistance threatened human and animal health, food security and agricultural productivity. He called for responsible antibiotic use and research that delivers practical benefits to farmers.
Read More: Pakistan’s Poultry Sector Plunges 40% Amid Price Instability
He linked the work to Pakistan’s National Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance and thanked ICARS and Denmark’s government for their support.
ICARS Executive Director Helle Engslund Krarup said the partnership would generate evidence on antibiotic alternatives for Pakistan’s poultry industry. She added that continued ministry leadership would be needed to expand interventions that prove successful.
With additional input from ARY News
