Advancing animal health innovations that build farmer resilience and improve public health
Transformational Strategies for Farm Output Risk Mitigation (TRANSFORM)
At Cargill, we work with farmers to build a resilient agriculture industry by focusing on the most pressing sustainability challenges facing the world today – including antimicrobial resistance and emerging infectious diseases. Over 70% of emerging infectious diseases are zoonotic – transmitted from animals to humans, with most originating in wildlife. This puts increasing pressure on our health systems, affecting human health and causing economic losses. Transboundary animal diseases – the spread of disease from one animal to another – can decimate farmers’ flocks and herds. And the healthier animals are, the less farmers need to use antibiotics to treat their animals.
It’s estimated that by 2050 we will need to produce 60% more food to feed a world population of 9.3 billion. At the same time, without action, antimicrobial resistance is projected to cause an 11% loss in global livestock production by 2050 – causing a major hit to food production and farmer livelihoods.
Working together to address global challenges
TRANSFORM was a USAID-funded project led by Cargill that worked in Kenya, India, Thailand and Vietnam from 2021 to 2025. TRANSFORM worked to increase the capacity of small- and large-scale farmers, agribusinesses and governments to prevent emerging zoonoses and transboundary animal disease and mitigate antimicrobial resistance. All the while, we remained focused on the productivity and profitability of farmers.
TRANSFORM met or exceeded all of its targets, notably reaching over two million farmers by social behavior change campaigns, delivering biosecurity and farm management training to 222,989 farmers and mobilizing $1.7 million to help farmers adopt improved practices. TRANSFORM’s mid-term evaluation found nearly 85% of farmers who received training had adopted new practices, and many had experienced reduced animal mortality (51.3%), improved productivity (43.9%), and increased income (35.6%). TRANSFORM also secured 42 formal commitments to the International Poultry Council’s antimicrobial use stewardship principles, reaching over 150 countries and representing nearly 50% of global poultry meat production, spanning all sectors of poultry production from small farms to fully integrated systems, and from genetics to food service.
Learn more about how TRANSFORM worked at the intersection of animal agriculture and human health to improve animal health, decrease the risk of zoonotic disease and reduce the need to use antimicrobials.
Improving animal health through innovative nutrition research
Through TRANSFORM, Cargill’s leading technical scientists worked hand in hand with local research partners to understand how animal nutrition could have the greatest impact on pathogens that threaten human health. This innovative research portfolio spanned over a dozen research trials, including field trials done in partnership with small and medium-scale farmers in India, Kenya and Vietnam. Results from the research trials have been published in peer-reviewed journals.
Published Research Results
- Efficacy of Saccharomyces cerevisiae Fermentation Product and Probiotic Supplementation on Growth Performance, Gut Microflora and Immunity of Broiler Chickens
- Effect of Feeding a Saccharomyces cerevisiae Fermentation Product on Pathogenic and Antibiotic Resistance Bacteria in Crossbred F1 (Luong Phuong × Ri) Broiler Chickens in the Production Systems With Low Biosecurity (Sector 3)
- Effect of feeding a Saccharomyces cerevisiae fermentation product on immune response to vaccines against Newcastle disease virus, Avian influenza virus, and the prevalence of chronic respiratory disease and coccidiosis in chickens raised in a low biosecurity production system
- Effects of Saccharomyces cerevisiae fermentation-derived postbiotics supplementation in sows and piglets' diet on intestinal morphology, and intestinal barrier function in weaned pigs in an intensive pig production system
- Impacts of dietary Saccharomyces cerevisiae fermentation-derived postbiotic on growth performance and health status of Pacific white shrimp
A public-private consortium
TRANSFORM was driven by a private sector-led consortium working together to create shared value – for each other, our partners, and the communities where we work. The consortium included:
- CARGILL, a global agribusiness company, contributed its relationships to farms of all sizes across multiple species and offers products, services, and solutions that support animal health by balancing gut microbiota and the immune system.
- HEIFER INTERNATIONAL, a global non-governmental organization working to end hunger and poverty through agriculture, contributed to relationships with smallholder farmers across the world.
- INTERNATIONAL POULTRY COUNCIL, a global industry membership organization, contributed by bringing together poultry stakeholders from all continents, representing the value chain from genetics to consumption, and working to proactively address shared challenges and opportunities.