IFOAM Animal Husbandry Alliance (IAHA) in collaboration with the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL) orgnaized International Conference, ”Organic animal husbandry: a role model for the future of livestock” at Frick, Switzlerland during April, 28-30, 2026. It was attended by about 200 participants from across the World including two ISOFAR Board Members Dr. Mahesh Chander and Dr. B.Subrahmanyeswari from India.
The IAHA conference held at FiBL, Frick, Switzerland, brought together around 200 participants from across the globe. The conference was particularly significant because livestock and animal husbandry remain relatively underrepresented in global discussions on organic agriculture, including in research, data, trade and policy debates, despite the growing momentum of the organic movement.
The conference explored the challenges facing organic livestock production systems worldwide, pathways for scaling up organic and traditional livestock systems, and strategies for strengthening organic livestock value chains. It also addressed the increasing polarization of debates on livestock farming between intensive production systems and animal-free approaches, which can overlook the important role of animals in maintaining balanced and circular farming systems.
Organic animal husbandry offers a potential middle path—one that integrates environmental sustainability, animal health and welfare, ethical considerations, and the productive role of livestock within agro-ecosystems. The conference provided an important global platform to examine this potential and to explore how organic livestock farming can contribute to more sustainable, resilient and ethically grounded livestock systems of the future.
Dr. Mahesh Chander presented a paper, on “Crop-Livestock integration for sustainable organic production systems”. Experiences in organic farming, particularly in animal husbandry & on-farm circulatory practices in India, were shared in this presentation. Additionally, he chaired a technical session on “Making organic livestock value chains work” as well as coordinated a session on Organic Animal Husbvandry Scenario in Asian countries.
Dr. B.Subrahmanyeswari presented a paper on “Indigenous cattle farms towards organic production potential: a SWOC analysis in Andhra Pradesh, India”. The full papers presented at the conference are available at https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/animal-science-proceedings/vol/17/issue/1
Author:
Dr Mahesh Chander, Principal Scientist, ICAR- Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar-243122 (UP) INDIA