On 2 August 2026, the Sino-German Agricultural Centre (DCZ) participated in the 2026 One Health & Grassland Animal Husbandry Development Conference in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia. The conference formed part of the 2026 World Dairy Industry Conference and the celebration of the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists. It brought together representatives from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (MARA), international organizations, universities, research institutes, and leading companies to discuss sustainable livestock development, veterinary public health, and international cooperation.
The conference opened with remarks from Li Jinxiang, Vice President and Secretary-General of the China Rural Development Association, Carlos Aldeco, FAO Representative in China and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Zhao Yusheng, Deputy Director-General of the Department of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, and further representatives from government and industry. In his keynote address, Thanawat Tiensin, FAO’s Assistant Director-General and Chief Veterinarian, presented the Global Plan of Action for Sustainable Livestock Transformation.
The program continued with two thematic sessions. Session I, “Implementing the Global One Health Consensus to Advance Sustainable Livestock Development,” moderated by FAO’s Paolo Medei, addressed topics ranging from the meat sheep industry in Inner Mongolia to greenhouse gas emissions pathways and antimicrobial resistance, with contributions from speakers including Dominik Wisser (FAO), Thomas Blaha (University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover), and Jenny Jovana Chaparro Gutiérrez (University of Antioquia, Colombia). Session II, “Cross-sectoral One Health Collaboration for Sustainable Veterinary Public Health Governance,” moderated by Peng Chen of China Agricultural University, covered veterinary drug innovation, animal welfare standards, brucellosis control, and antimicrobial stewardship, featuring speakers such as Jacqueline Lusat (WOAH) and Orr Rozov (FAO).
The sessions concluded with a panel discussion in which two DCZ representatives took part: Director Michaela Böhme and Gantsetseg Ganbold, Project Manager in the International Consulting Department of IAK Agricultural Consulting, alongside Wang Shaolin of China Agricultural University and the FAO Reference Laboratory for Antimicrobial Resistance, and Bai Li of the China National Center for Food Safety Risk Assessment. The panel brought together perspectives from bilateral cooperation, academia, and food safety risk assessment to discuss shared approaches to advancing veterinary public health and sustainable livestock production under the One Health framework.
The conference demonstrated how the One Health approach can serve as a practical framework for advancing the sustainable transformation of the livestock sector while recognizing the interdependence of animal, human, and environmental health. Across the presentations and panel discussions, speakers emphasized that One Health not only encourages cooperation across institutional and disciplinary boundaries, but also strengthens international collaboration in addressing shared challenges.
While the approach has already contributed to progress in areas such as combating antimicrobial resistance, case studies presented during the conference also illustrated its growing application to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, improving animal welfare, enhancing disease prevention, and promoting the overall sustainability of livestock production.
