TDU-Indo Dutch Exchange Anti Biotics This project aims to reduce the use of antibiotics, improve quality of dairy products and enhance animal health and wellbeing in Indian dairy farming, by strengthening the action-learning community of actors in the dairy chain in the awareness about, use of and access to natural products.

High use of antibiotics in animal production and multi-resistant strains of microbes are a problem in animal farming in both India and the Netherlands. According to a recent scientific review study in the UK this will lead to global crises by 2050, with more deaths than cancer today  the majority in poor regions of Africa and Asia.

In the Netherlands, where numerous initiatives to reduce antibiotic use are being experimented with, with emphasis on law-enforced reduction of antibiotic use by farmers and veterinarians, animal health improvements, and milk quality control. In India age-old techniques with the use of medical plants and other natural products have been developed and  since the early 1990s  revitalized. This process of documentation, rapidassessment, propagation, and popularization of the use of medicinal plants is unique in the world, and provides important insights elsewhere.

In 2014 the exchange between experts in the Netherlands and India that combine both experiences has been very successful. This project aimed to reduce the use of antibiotics in dairy production in India and the Netherlands, by increasing the use of medicinal plants and other natural products, combined with integrated animal management and milk quality control. Within both countriesthe exchange has resulted in numerous new initiatives, strengthened networks, room for the use of medicinal plants and other sustainable practices in dairy farming, and important coverage in the press.

This E-Motive project in 2015 is the follow-up of this successful exchange. Similar to the 2014 project the program implies one visit from Dutch farmers and veterinarians to Bangalore (Karnataka) Karur, (Tamil Nadu) Thiruvananthapuram and Kottakkal (Kerala) in April 2015  and a return visit of Indian farmers, veterinarians and representatives of the dairy industry to the Netherlands in September 2015.

The model that will be used is the 4-layer approach developed during the 2014 Emotive project:
1.	Foundation: improved animal management (breeding & feeding)
2.	Second layer: promote the use of medicinal plants (both preventive and curative)
3.	Third layer: to promote safety of dairy products through effective milk quality control
4.	Fourth layer: to reward farmers through surplus payment for milk without residues, in the form of establishing an organic dairy chain within the dairy cooperatives

This year, the exchange between Netherlands and India will have four major objectives to strengthen the Indian dairy sector:
-	Strengthen the professional Ethno Veterinary (EVP) action-learning community in the dairy chain in three Indian States on ways to reduce antibiotic use and improve animal health
-	Herbal product for udder infection and related training materials developed for Indian veterinarians and farmers
-	Effective Indian support to Dutch herbal medicine
-	Up-scaling the findings to the Indian wider community of farmers, veterinarians and the ministries of agriculture and health

In addition, there will be a combination with a similar exchange between Netherlands and two African countries (Ethiopia and Uganda) with special emphasis on sustainable livestock breeding practices. Moreover, the exchange activities in 2015 will be effectively used to strengthen the network within the 4 countries and develop a joint proposal for strengthening the activities towards antibiotic-residue free milk worldwide.