The workshop, organized by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) in conjunction with the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), saw government ministry representatives, scientists and specialists in pig health, animal health, public health, economics and ecology, discuss their research on public health innovations and how they can be best implemented through the CGIAR Research Programs on livestock and fish and agriculture for improved nutrition and health.

These two programs have identified improvements in pork production, productivity and safety in the smallholder-dominated pig markets of Vietnam, Uganda and the northeast Indian state of Nagaland as initial areas of focus.

With pig markets in the three locations heavily weighted towards smallholder producers, the workshop paid particular attention to the challenges facing the informal pig sector.

The three-day gathering saw participants share short papers and presentations on the lessons learnt from the following key areas:

• Food safety in informal markets
• Integrated assessment and management of pig health risks in Laos
• Veterinary public health research in SE Asia
• Market-based approaches to food safety
• Sharing lessons from pig production between SE Asia and NE India
• Managing pig risks from a farming systems perspective
• Best practices for value chain upgrading for food safety: some examples for selected livestock commodities

View photos from the symposium and field trip