The Role of Economics for Animal Health Policymakers

Animal disease prevention and control is a critical aspect of a competitive livestock sector. Within this sector, decisions on animal disease interventions are made in the context of the state of the general economy and at all levels, from farms to governments. Therefore, socioeconomic analysis needs to be part of animal health policy development. Such analysis needs to understand the motivation of people engaged at the different points along the livestock value chains in order to identify critical intervention points and develop flexible approaches to disease control. Examples are presented that show a rigid 'one size fits all' approach does not work and that more awareness of the socioeconomic context of disease control is required for greater disease control success. At the moment, adoption of a more flexible approach is not common, but the present financial realities, the Common Agricultural Policy reforms in 2013 and an increasing scepticism towards state intervention will force change, and encourage people to use socioeconomic analysis in animal health policy development. The earlier this step is taken, the better it will be for the livestock sector in Europe.