Estimating livestock biomass across diverse populations and data ecosystems

Estimates of livestock biomass can be used as a denominator in disease burden estimates, as well as informing assessments of resource use and environmental impacts. This paper explores the challenges of accurately estimating biomass across different scales and data ecosystems, with a particular focus on the use of biomass in the Global Burden of Animal Diseases (GBADs) Programme. The biggest challenge is a lack of breed and class (age, sex)-specific data on populations and liveweights at sub-national level. This can be overcome through the use of global datasets and generic estimates of liveweight for each species, though this approach fails to account for the diversity of livestock systems.