Language platforms are an extension of LEAD in their own regions and work as networks attached to a Virtual Research and Development Centre. They also act as a hub for field activities such as research, dissemination, support for policy formulation, etc. The existing platforms are supported by regional organisations that carry out research, facilitate feed back and capitalise contributions from field stakeholders.

The philosophy behind the LEAD Platforms is that they work together and in conjunction with the Virtual Centre to enable the global community to access information on livestock and environment interactions that is essential to achieve rural sustainable development.

The LEAD Platforms are organized by language and thematic focus. This approach allow to create a multilingual network that share the same resources in a central hub but in which each language platform has a particular thematic focus, relevant to their language area. This approach aims at increasing the exchange of information and encourage the users to group around topics closely related to their work and interest.

The LEAD Platforms operate in English, French, Spanish, Chinese, and Russian the main thematic issues or hotspots of livestock and environment interactions covered by them are: wildlife/biodiversity, deforestation, involution of mixed farming systems, pollution from industrial production systems, land degradation and global environmental effects in relation to livestock production. The LEAD India Platform operates in English.

The platforms group the network members around the particular thematic issues by providing information, decision support tools, promotion and dissemination of LEAD activities and networking facilities. The Virtual Centre provides the structure and co-ordination work to facilitate greater interaction among the platform users. This structure encourages researchers to work and correspond with other researchers working in similar agroecological zones and technical fields but who are geographically distant. It also provides the links to researchers and institutions working in the same issues but in a different language.

Anglophone platform lead-en.virtualcentre.org/	Russian platform lead-ru.virtualcentre.org/	Francophone platform lead-fr.virtualcentre.org/
Hispanoparlante platform lead-es.virtualcentre.org/	Indian platform lead-india.virtualcentre.org/	Chinese platform lead-zh.virtualcentre.org/