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The Global Farm Platform has been awarded the prestigious Technical Recognition by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) in Sustainable Livestock Transformation, One Health, Animal Health, and Reference Centres. 

The award was presented during the FAO Global Technical Recognition Ceremony on Wednesday, 15 October 2025, at their headquarters in Rome, Italy, as part of the organisation’s 80th anniversary celebration.

The ceremony recognised The Global Farm Platform approach, which connects research with real-world farming practices to advance global food security, sustainable development, and agrifood systems transformation. 

A hub-and-spoke model for global impact

Launched in 2014, with the Nature paper ‘’, The Global Farm Platform exemplifies technical leadership and collaboration through its unique hub-and-spoke model. Research farms (hubs) serve as regional centres for experimentation and demonstration, while commercial farms and smallholders (spokes) adopt and disseminate locally relevant, economically viable, and environmentally sustainable practices. This model ensures scalable solutions tailored to diverse farming communities worldwide, from for example tropical smallholder systems in Malawi to temperate sheep farms in the UK. 

91��Ʒ���ϳԹ�'s farm, Henfaes Research Centre, is part of The Global Farm Platform (GFP). One ongoing project there seeks to determine the impacts of mob grazing (short bursts of high-density grazing) versus conventional grazing of sheep and cattle on livestock productivity, soil health, nutrient losses, and greenhouse gas emissions. Such work is hugely relevant and timely to the ruminant sector. The work, and others within the GFP, align with FAO’s four betters - better production, better nutrition, a better environment, and a better life - and the 2025 World Food Day theme - .

Significance of the recognition

Professor Prysor Williams, Manager of Henfaes Research Centre, said, "It is fantastic to be part of the Global Farm Platform and the network of contacts and projects that brings. The research that we and others in the group conduct is helping to address one of the challenges of our time: food security in a changing climate.”

Jordana Rivero, Chair of The Global Farm Platform, said, “This FAO recognition reinforces the Global Farm Platform’s role as a global leader in sustainable livestock transformation. Our hub-and-spoke model fosters collaboration across continents, empowering farmers, researchers, and policymakers with innovative, scalable solutions that tackle climate change, biodiversity loss, and food security whilst advancing One Health principles.”