Abstract
Reducing antimicrobial use (AMU) on farms is key for controlling the rise of resistant bacteria that have the potential capacity to infect humans via direct animal contact or via the food chain or the environment. To reduce AMU, antimicrobials must be used in a prudent and rational manner. Extensive efforts have been made recently to identify the cognitive and behavioral barriers to the appropriate use of antimicrobials by various livestock sector stakeholders. However, most studies carried out thus far have only partly captured the dynamic and systemic dimension of the processes involved in changes of practices related to AMU on farms. To shed light on the transition pathways implemented to reduce AMU, a qualitative study was conducted in France based on 28 semi-structured interviews with farmers, technicians and veterinarians from the free-range broiler production sector. Based on the thematic analysis of verbatims, we identified technical improvements which are key contributors to reduced AMU. We also highlighted some gaps in knowledge regarding AMU and antimicrobial resistance. We found that, rather than individual motivations alone, the extent to which farmers are embedded in collective organizations is decisive for changes in practices, and downstream operators (distributors and slaughterers) play a key role in the beginning of AMU transition pathways. As a result, we show that change in AMU requires a global rethinking of the overall socio-technical system rather than modifications of a single element in a farming system. Our results also highlight that transition pathways toward reduced AMU cannot just rely on trigger events, but also involves medium or long-term processes, with actors' experiences and practices being modified on an incremental basis over time. Our study sheds light on the need for multi and trans-disciplinary research involving the social sciences to analyze interactions between stakeholders and the collective actions implemented to tackle the challenge of AMU reduction.
Highlights
Antimicrobial use (AMU) on farms is contributing to the rise of resistant bacteria that have the potential capacity to infect humans via direct animal contact or via the food chain or the environment, representing a major threat to human health [1]
Debates about appropriate methodologies for studying public health problems have long been polarized by the opposition made between quantitative and qualitative approaches [47]
This article rather leans on this second body of work and uses it to discuss interdisciplinary approaches which have been developed these last years in the field of animal health, and AMU in particular
Summary
Antimicrobial use (AMU) on farms is contributing to the rise of resistant bacteria that have the potential capacity to infect humans via direct animal contact or via the food chain or the environment, representing a major threat to human health [1]. The recent growing awareness of AMR as a global public health threat has catalyzed the implementation of regulatory and voluntary public policies aiming to curb AMU and ensure antimicrobial stewardship to slow down the erosion of susceptibility or even decrease resistance of bacteria to antimicrobials. The main objective of numerous action plans implemented recently has been to reduce AMU. Efforts to reduce AMU in the food animal production sector are complicated, by the fact that in addition to treating diseases, farmers use antimicrobials to keep their herds healthy and highly productive while ensuring animal welfare and food safety objectives. Managing tradeoffs between massive restriction of AMU and maintenance of current and potentially non-sustainable consumption levels poses a huge challenge to public policies [1]
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