Strategies to Improve Livestock Genetic Resources to Counter Climate Change Impact

Global diversity of livestock in the form of many different species and breeds in a variety of production environments is indicative of the fact that it has developed over time in sync with the ecosystem. The developing world is particularly enriched with livestock breed portfolio. Natural selection has mainly acted on fitness including adaptability and reproductive success, whereas selection practised by livestock keepers and animal breeders has been need based. As against highly structured breeding programmes and intensive selection in developed world, livestock of developing world have largely been subjected to differential selection pressures in the form of their ability to survive in harsh production environments and challenged inputs. The last few decades have witnessed large-scale erosion of livestock genetic diversity. Climate change (CC) through its direct and indirect effects including its mitigation measures is believed to have influenced the erosion. Faster loss of animal genetic diversity poses greatest threat to the sustainability of the sector. The presence of varied livestock species and their breeds with widely variable performances offers the opportunity for genetic improvement. In the absence of it, we risk progress in this sector. Reorientation of livestock breeding is required to address the issues of CC. Although resource-use efficiency is imperative, careful trade-off between livestock production, productivity and adaptability will be required. Breeding strategies for livestock genetic resources to counter CC impact will not be fundamentally different in the future. Natural stratification of species and breeds of livestock shall be an important guide in the design. Appropriate policy framework, large-scale cooperation in knowledge and resources and awareness will be crucial.