A new study led by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is reinforcing a key message for the livestock industry: improving productivity is central to reducing antibiotic use – and demand for solutions to achieve this is rising rapidly.
The research, published in Nature Communications, warns that without intervention, global antibiotic use in livestock is projected to increase by nearly 30% by 2040, reaching more than 143,000 tonnes annually. However, the study also finds that targeted gains in productivity could cut this figure by up to 57%, reducing use to around 62,000 tonnes.
“Enhancing livestock production efficiency is key to curbing antibiotic use,” said Alejandro Acosta, livestock economist at FAO and lead author of the study. “By producing more animal-sourced food with the same or fewer animals, we can reduce the need for antibiotics while strengthening food security.”
AMR targets intensify pressure on industry
The findings come amid mounting global pressure to tackle antimicrobial resistance (AMR), with the 2024 UN General Assembly declaration calling for a significant reduction in antimicrobial use across agrifood systems by 2030.
For the livestock sector – particularly in regions where production is expanding to meet rising protein demand – this presents a dual challenge: increase output while cutting antibiotic dependence.
“Stakeholders across the livestock sector must work together to improve disease prevention, strengthen monitoring systems, and invest in innovation,” said Junxia Song, senior animal health officer at FAO.
To support this transition, FAO has launched its RENOFARM initiative, focused on reducing antimicrobial reliance through improved farm management, policy guidance and technology adoption.
Innovation pipeline expanding across multiple fronts
Against this backdrop, the fight against AMR is fast becoming a major innovation and investment frontier, with a growing ecosystem of technologies aimed at improving productivity while reducing antibiotic use.
In biological alternatives, startups such as PhageLab and Proteon Pharmaceuticals are developing bacteriophage therapies that target specific pathogens, while Animab is advancing monoclonal antibodies to prevent infections in livestock without antibiotics.
At the same time, diagnostics firms like Advanced Animal Diagnostics are enabling more precise treatment decisions by helping farmers identify which animals require intervention – reducing blanket antibiotic use.
Meanwhile, the feed and nutrition segment is attracting the bulk of investment. Companies such as DSM-Firmenich, Chr. Hansen (Novonesis) and Lallemand Animal Nutrition are scaling probiotics and microbiome-based solutions – often referred to as “eubiotics” – that improve gut health and reduce disease risk at herd level.
Prevention and precision take centre stage
Large animal health players, including Zoetis, Elanco, Merck Animal Health and Boehringer Ingelheim, are also shifting toward prevention-led approaches, investing in vaccines, biosecurity and precision health tools to reduce disease incidence.
At the same time, venture funding is accelerating into next-generation biotech and data-driven livestock management, including phage therapies, antibody platforms and real-time monitoring systems.
Together, these approaches reflect a broader transition away from reactive antibiotic use toward integrated, preventative animal health systems.
From productivity gains to system transformation
A key contribution of the FAO study is the introduction of a new Livestock Biomass Conversion (LBC) method, improving the accuracy of antibiotic use estimates across production systems and enabling more targeted policymaking.
But the broader implication is clear: improving productivity is no longer just an economic goal – it is central to reducing antibiotic use and meeting global sustainability targets.
As companies invest in solutions that enhance efficiency, health and resilience simultaneously, the boundary between productivity and sustainability is increasingly blurring.
For the agrifood sector, the message is unambiguous: the future of livestock production will depend not on using fewer inputs alone, but on producing more with smarter, healthier systems that reduce the need for antibiotics altogether.
