The genetic diversity of Africa’s indigenous livestock (egne kvægracer) needs to be tapped before it is lost forever, researchers have warned.
They said native breeds had adapted to tolerate parasites or produce “robust” milk yields in harsh conditions, BBC online reports Thursday. Writing in the journal “Science”, they added that these traits had yet to be unlocked by the scientific community.
But indigenous breeds were dying out as farmers switched to “exotic” cattle from developed nations, they observed. – African cattle are just another species of ruminants (drøvtyggere) in a landscape already full of ruminants, and they have adapted to this environment, explained co-author Olivier Hanotte from the University of Nottingham’s Institute of Genetics.
– The reason why we should tap African livestock genomes is not only for Africa, it is for everyone, noted Professor Hanotte.
– But rather than unlocking the genetic secrets of these breeds and using what is already there, there is a tendency within sub-Saharan Africa to move across to the highly developed breeds from Europe, he said.
However, the vast majority of “exotic” breeds from Europe were ill-suited to cope with the conditions found in Africa, he added.
Professor Hanotte said one reason was that they were bred to maximise productivity. – The only way they can survive is if you completely change the production system as well and mimic the systems used in Europe, he told BBC News.
One of the consequences of switching to a European style of farming was that it increased the likelihood of diverting valuable food crops away from human consumption in order to feed the novel (forædlede/værdifulde) livestock.
– In my opinion, this is probably the worst thing that you could do, he warned.
He said that indigenous cattle had also adapted over the centuries to cope with a hot, dry climate.
