Genebanks for Indigenous Livestock Species Proposed

INTERLAKEN, Switzerland, September 3, 2007 (ENS) - The black-and-white Holstein-Friesian dairy cow is such a good milker that it is now a familiar sight on farms in 128 countries in all regions of the world. Single breeds of fast-growing pigs and prolific egg-laying chickens are feeding the world's burgeoning population, but the world's first global inventory of farm animals finds these choices by farmers are causing the loss of one indigenous livestock breed every month.

The UN report was presented to more than 300 policy makers, scientists, breeders, and livestock keepers at the First International Technical Conference on Animal Genetic Resources, which opened today in Interlaken. The conference aims to adopt a global plan of action for conserving animal genetic resources as its main outcome.

A herd of Uganda's indigenous Ankole cattle (Photo by Martha de Jong-Lantink)

"Valuable breeds are disappearing at an alarming rate," said Carlos Seré, director general of ILRI, in a keynote speech at the Interlaken conference.

"In many cases we will not even know the true value of an existing breed until it's already gone," he warned. "This is why we need to act now to conserve what's left by putting them in genebanks."

Seré called for the rapid establishment of genebanks in Africa as one of four practical steps to better characterize, use, and conserve the genetic basis of farm animals for the livestock production systems around the world. Such banks would conserve the semen, eggs, and embryos of key animal species.

"This is a major step in the right direction," said Seré. "The international community is beginning to appreciate the seriousness of this loss of livestock genetic diversity."

Holstein-Friesians, the world's most popular breed of dairy cow, in a New Zealand pasture. (Photo by Dianne Pastor)

For example, in northern Vietnam, local breeds comprised 72 percent of the sow population in 1994, and within eight years, this had dropped to just 26 percent. Of the country's 14 local pig breeds, five are now vulnerable, two are in critical state, and three are facing extinction.

Still, nearly 70 percent of the world's remaining unique livestock breeds are found in developing countries, the FAO reports.

"FAO is leading inter-governmental processes to better manage these resources," he said. "These negotiations will take time to bear fruit. Meanwhile, some activities can be started now to help save breeds that are most at risk."

Scientists predict that Uganda's indigenous Ankole cattle - famous for their huge, graceful horns - could face extinction within 20 years because they are being rapidly replaced by Holstein-Friesians, which produce much more milk.

But there are drawbacks to switching to Holstein-Friesians. During a recent drought, some farmers who had kept their hardy Ankole were able to walk them long distances to water sources while those who had traded the Ankole for imported breeds lost their entire herds.

"In the U.S., Europe, China, India, and South America, there are well-established genebanks actively preserving regional livestock diversity," said Seré. "Sadly, Africa has been left wanting and that absence is sorely felt right now because this is one of the regions with the richest remaining diversity and is likely to be a hotspot of breed losses in this century."

In interviews conducted by the FAO for this report, some farmers in an arid area of the African country of Botswana said they would like to try imported breeds, but others, like Ngapa Molome, realize the value of the local breed of Tswana sheep that she keeps. "We don't have any problems with these animals," she says. "They require little attention and can easily find food themselves in the dry areas. We don't need another breed, and we wouldn't be able to afford another breed anyway."

Rene Randrianiaina lives an area of the island of Madagascar known for the breeding of Malagasy zebus. He is raising both the pure Malagasy zebu, and a cross-breed of the Malagasy zebu and the Renitelo. He told FAO interviewers that the crossing of the two species makes it possible to have animals that are resistant to diseases and fast growing meat producers.

Rupert Wallace and his Jamaica Hope bull (Photo by Jasmin Holness courtesy FAO)

Seré proposes acceleration of four practical steps to better manage farm animal genetic resources.

A first strategy is to encourage farmers to keep genetic diversity "on the hoof," which means maintaining a variety of indigenous breeds on farms. In his speech, Seré called for the use of market-incentives and good public policy that make it in the farmer's self-interest to maintain diversity.

Another way to encourage "keeping it on the hoof," Seré said, is by allowing greater mobility of livestock breeds across national borders. When it comes to livestock, farmers have to "move it or lose it," he said.

Wider distribution of breeds and access to them makes it less likely that particular breeds and populations will be wiped out by fluctuations in the market, civil strife, natural disasters, or disease outbreaks.

The third approach that Seré recommends is a longer term strategy. Known as "landscape genomics," it combines advanced genomic and geographical mapping techniques to predict which breeds are best suited to which environments and circumstances around the world.

For any of these approaches to work, Seré says scientists will need a wide variety of livestock genetic diversity to work with, so he is advocating long-term insurance by establishing genebanks.

ILRI has helped lay the groundwork for prioritizing livestock conservation efforts in developing regions in case all livestock breeds cannot be saved. Over the past six years, it has built a detailed database, called the Domestic Animal Genetic Resources Information System, containing research-based information on the distribution, characteristics, and status of 669 breeds of cattle, sheep, goats, pigs and chickens indigenous to Africa and Asia.

Worldwide today, one billion people are involved in animal farming and 70 percent of the rural poor depend on livestock as an important part of their livelihoods. "For the foreseeable future," says Seré, "farm animals will continue to create means for hundreds of millions of people to escape absolute poverty."

Based in Nairobi, Kenya, the International Livestock Research Institute works in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, with offices in East and West Africa, South and Southeast Asia, China and Central America.

The institute belongs to the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research, CGIAR, an association of 60 governments and public and private sector institutions supporting a network of 15 agricultural research centers that work to reduce poverty, hunger and environmental degradation in developing countries.

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