This paper summarises preliminary results of a survey conducted as part of a large effort to systematically collate information aimed at assessing the status of cattle genetic resources of sub-Saharan Africa. The 146 indigenous breeds/strains identified from the survey are classified into nine broad groups (Humpless Longhorns, Humpless Shorthorns, Large East African Zebu, Small East African Zebu, West African Zebu, Sanga, Zenga, Recently Derived Breeds and Commercial Composites) some of which are further subdivided into several groups (based on possible genetic relationships) and clusters (based on eco-geographical locations). Each breed is then described in terms of location, physical characteristics, adaptive attributes, if known, current main uses and status in terms of qualitative or quantitative indication of trends, where available, and presence or absence of programmes for its management or further development.

A field and literature survey was conducted to determine the status of cattle genetic resources of sub-Saharan Africa and to identify cattle breeds at risk and those which may have become extinct over the last century. This paper - in two parts - summarises preliminary results of the survey. The survey revealed that sub-Saharan Africa is home to a total of 145 cattle breeds/strains comprising two taurine Longhorns, 15 taurine Shorthorns, 75 zebu (Bos indicus), 30 sanga, eight zenga (zebu-sanga), nine breeds derived from interbreeding of indigenous breeds/strains located in close proximity to each other, and six systematically created composite breeds. Out of the 145 breeds identified from the survey, 47 (about 32%) were considered to be at risk of extinction. Risk categories used were: Critical (most severe), Endangered, Vulnerable, and Rare (least severe). Of the breeds identified to be at risk of extinction, six were in the “Rare”category, 10 were “Vulnerable” another 10 were “Endangered”and 15 were in the “Critical”category. A total of 22 breeds (about 13%) previously recognised in the continent have become extinct in the last century. This number excludes some populations which have lost their individual identity due to admixtures involving two or more originally distinct breeds.

This study describes the variations in the physical features and the useful attributes of different populations of indigenous chickens. Five populations of chickens in different regions of Ethiopia were studied based on 13 qualitative traits recorded for a total of 1 125 chickens. Additional measurements on quantitative traits (shank length and body weight) were also included. Descriptive statistics (nonparametric and F tests) were used to analyze the data. Each of the study populations possessed multiple variants of plumage colours and other physical features. However, white body plumage is one of the prominent features of Farta chickens and red is predominant in the other populations. Pea comb is the dominant comb type in all regions. Most of the chickens in the high altitude regions have yellow skin. The geographic distribution and frequency of naked neck chickens are generally small, and the available small proportion is found mainly in the low altitude regions. Males in all populations are heavier and taller than the females. Body weights range from 1 411 g (Konso) to 1 700 g (Horro) in adult males and from 1 011 g (Konso) to 1 517 g (Sheka) in females. Most of the morphological traits that were studied showed a very low level of associations with each other.

This paper reviews experiences with cross-breeding for milk production in the tropics. Data were compiled from 23 different studies evaluating the performance of different grades of cross-bred animals as well as local breeds. Relative performance of indigenous breeds compared with different grades of cross-breeds was calculated for three climatic zones. Traits considered were milk yield per lactation, age at first calving, services per conception, lifetime milk yield and total number of lactations completed. At 50 percent Bos taurus blood, lactation milk yields were 2.6, 2.4 and 2.2 times higher than those of local cattle in the highland, tropical wet and dry, and semi-arid climatic zones, respectively; lactation lengths increased by 1.2, 1.2 and 1.9 months in the above-mentioned climatic zones, respectively; there was a reduction in calving interval by 0.8 times and in age at first calving by 0.9 times. Similarly, cross-breds with 50 percent B. taurus genes had 1.8 times higher lifetime milk yields and a 1.2 times higher number of total lactations. Although cross-breeding faces a number of challenges such as better infrastructure, higher demand for health care, there are many advantages of using it. These are higher production per animal, higher income for the families and provision of high-value food. It is therefore likely to continue to be an important livestock improvement tool in the tropics in the future, where farmers can provide sufficient management for maintaining animals with higher input requirements and access to the milk market can be secured.

The evidence for both between- and within- breed genetic variation for resistance to gastrointestinal (GI) nematode parasites is reviewed. It is concluded that much of the published research on breed characterisation for resistance suffers from poor experimental design. Prior to the initiation of a 6-year study that has just been completed in coastal Kenya there were no estimates of within-breed genetic variation (i.e. heritabilities) of resistance in sheep or goats in the tropics. This study has confirmed that Red Maasai sheep and Small East African (SEA) goats are more resistant to GI parasites (predominantly Haemonchus contortus) than Dorper sheep and Galla goats. Heritability estimates for logarithm transformed faecal egg counts (an indicator of resistance) in 8-month-old lambs was 0.18±0.08 for all lambs, but higher in the susceptible Dorper-sired lambs (0.35±0.16) than in the resistant Red Maasai-sired lambs (0.06±0.07). This difference in heritability suggests that many centuries of natural selection have fixed most of the genes for resistance in the Red Maasai sheep. The resistant Red Maasai sheep and SEA goats were two to three times more productive than the susceptible Dorper sheep and Galla goats in the sub-humid coastal Kenya environment.

More than one million smallholders in the Andean region of central South America exploit alpacas (Vicugna pacos) and lamas (Lama glama) as their main means of subsistence. Alpacas and lamas provide meat, milk, fibre, power and guano; in addition it is an important element of the cultural identity of their producers. With 3.9 million lamas and 3.3 million alpacas the total annual fibre production in the region exceeds 5 million kg. Nearly 30% of the fibre production is transformed on-farm or at the community level. About 80% of the marketed alpaca fibre is white and 12% is finer than 23 microns. Lama fibres have less value and are more variable in colours and fibre diameter than alpaca fibres. Both species of camelids have two breeds, each one with specific adaptation and fibre quality characteristics. Two wild species of camelids exist in South America: the guanaco (Lama guanicoe) and the vicuna (Vicugna vicugna). Both have fleeces with precious down fibres. Specific populations of these camelids are qualified to be captured, sheared and released, providing an additional income to the communities in which they live. Due to support to improve the production of fibre and other products of South American camelids, while preserving a valuable animal genetic resource, the cultural values of the associated production systems, and improving the livelihoods of resource-poor smallholders should be part of a global strategy involving a sustained investment in appropriate R&D.

The aim of this study was to determine the egg production potentials of four different indigenous chicken breeds in South Africa: Potchefstroom Koekoek, Venda, Ovambo and Naked Neck. The White Leghorn breed was used as the control. The egg production potentials were evaluated over two consecutive production cycles of 52 weeks (used as replicates). Data were collected at the experimental farm of the Agriculture Research Council at Irene. Treatment means were separated using Fisher's protected t-test least significant difference at the 5 percent level of significance and the percentage mortality rate by means of a row by column chi-square test. No significant differences were observed between breeds on the mean age to the production of the first egg. The White Leghorn was superior (p ≤ 0.05) to all four of the indigenous breeds for the mean number of eggs and percentage hen-housed egg production produced per production cycle. The Potchefstroom Koekoek was also superior (p ≤ 0.05) to the other three indigenous breeds for these parameters. There was no difference between the Ovambo and Naked Neck breeds. The percentage mortality rate for the White Leghorn (39.5 percent) was significantly (p ≤ 0.05) different from that of the Venda, Ovambo and Potchefstroom Koekoek (22.2 percent). No differences were observed among the Potchefstroom Koekoek, Venda, Ovambo and Naked Neck (32.3 percent) or between the White Leghorn and Naked Neck with regard to the mean percentage mortality.

Two cases of livestock production involving French local breeds are analysed. The first shows how a high quality product under AOC (Protected Designation of Origin — PDO) has been defined for the Bresse chicken breed, formely kept by fancy breeders. The second shows the role of the local cattle breeds Abondance and Tarentaise in both the use of mountain areas and the development of PDO products. How to consider such values in a public policy dealing with farm animal genetic resources is discussed.

Linear measurements have been used as indicators of weight in cattle. Withers height has been used most commonly, but measurements of White Park cattle show that it is of limited value. This paper explores alternative measurements and indices, not only to provide a superior guide to weight, but also as indicators of type and function of beef cattle. A complex index is recommended for breed characterisation, while hip width or rump length are shown to be the preferred single measurements for evaluation of individual animals or within-herd groups.

Phenotypic characterization of indigenous chicken resources is a prerequisite for their rational utilization. Data were collected from 748 randomly selected households (HHs) using structured questionnaires. Visual appraisal was conducted to study morphological traits of indigenous chicken populations. Quantitative data were collected on body weight and shank length from both sexes. The results indicated that 55.0 percent of chicken populations were single combed followed by rose (28.5 percent) and pea (15.2 percent) combs. Yellow was the major shank colour (52.5 percent), followed by white (29.1 percent) and black (14.7 percent). About 46.4, 34.2 and 19.4 percent of chicken populations exhibited red, white and yellow earlobes, respectively. The predominant plumage colour was Kei (36.6 percent) followed by Tikur (20.7 percent), Gebsima (15.3 percent), Netch (12.3 percent), Kokima (8.4 percent), Wosera (3.7 percent), Zigrima (1.7 percent) and Zagolima (1.3 percent). The highest adult body weight was found in Naked-neck chickens (1.7 kg), followed by Kei (1.5 kg), Gebsima (1.45 kg) and Wosera (1.46 kg). The Naked-neck and Wosera males had the longest shank of 115 and 113 mm, respectively. Kei male chickens had large body weight shank length ratio compared with other indigenous chickens. The present study suggests that indigenous chicken populations might possess useful genetic potentials for improved productivity under scavenging feed resource-based production systems.

This overview analyses the key drivers of change in the global livestock sector and assesses how they are influencing current trends and future prospects in the world's diverse livestock production systems and market chains; and what are their consequent impacts on the management of animal genetic resources for food and agriculture. The trends are occurring in both developing and industrialized countries, but the responses are different. In the developing world, the trends are affecting the ability of livestock to contribute to improving livelihoods and reducing poverty as well as the use of natural resources. In the industrialized world, the narrowing animal genetic resource base in industrial livestock production systems raises the need to maintain a broader range of animal genetic resources to be able to deal with future uncertainties, such as climate change and zoonotic diseases.

This chapter discusses:

• What are the global drivers of change for livestock systems? Economic development and globalization; changing market demands and the “livestock revolution”; environmental impacts including climate change; and science and technology trends.

• How are the livestock production systems responding to the global drivers of change? Trends in the three main livestock production systems (industrial, crop-livestock and pastoral systems); the range and rate of changes occurring in different systems and how these affect animal genetic resources. The implications are that breeds cannot adapt in time to meet new circumstances. Hence new strategies and interventions are necessary to improve the management of animal genetic resources in situations where these genetic resources are most at risk.

• What are the implications for animal genetic resources diversity and for future prospects of their use? - Industrial livestock production systems are expected to have a limited demand for biodiversity, while crop-livestock and pastoral systems will rely on biodiversity to produce genotypes of improved productivity under changing environmental and socio-economic conditions. All systems will rely on biodiversity, albeit to varying degrees, to cope with expected climate change.

• What immediate steps are possible to improve animal genetic resources characterization, use and conservation? Appropriate institutional and policy frameworks are required to improve animal genetic resources management and these issues are being addressed at national and intergovernmental levels, in a process led by FAO to promote greater international collaboration on animal genetic resources. Based on an analysis of the current situation, the continuing loss of indigenous breeds and new developments in science and technology, there are several complementary actions that can begin to improve the management of animal genetic resources and maintain future options in an uncertain world.

These are summarized here as:

a. “Keep it on the hoof” - Encouraging the continuing sustainable use of traditional breeds and in situ conservation by providing market-driven incentives, public policy and This paper has benefited from inputs from several reviewers and other contributors, and we thank all for their thoughtful insights. We acknowledge the contributions of our colleagues at FAO, particularly Irene Hoffmann, Dafydd Pilling and Henning Steinfeld, and at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI): Ade Freeman, Mario Herrero, Olivier Hanotte, Steve Kemp, Sandy McClintock, Sara McClintock, Margaret MacDonald-Levy, Susan MacMillan, Grace Ndungu, An Notenbaert, Mwai Okeyo and Robin Reid. other support to enable livestock keepers to maintain genetic diversity in their livestock populations.

b. “Move it or lose it” - Enabling access to and the safe movement of animal genetic resources within and between countries, regions and continents is a key factor in use, development and conservation of animal genetic resources globally.

c. “Match breeds to environments” - Understanding the match between livestock populations, breeds and genes with the physical, biological and economic landscape. This “landscape livestock genomics” approach offers the means to predict the genotypes most appropriate to a given environment and, in the longer term, to understand the genetic basis of adaptation of the genotype to the environment.

d. “Put some in the bank” — New technologies make ex situ, in vitro conservation of animal genetic resources feasible for critical situations and are a way to provide long-term insurance against future shocks.

The multiple values, functions and consequences of livestock production systems and their rapid rate of change lead to divergent interests within and between countries. Conversely, the uncertainty about the implications of rapid, multifaceted global change for each livestock production system and the resulting future changes in the required genetic make-up of animal genetic resources make collective action to tackle conservation of animal genetic resources a long-term, global public good. Conserving animal genetic resources will not by itself solve these problems, but it is an important first step towards maintaining future options.

Advances in science and the technology, in areas such as reproductive technology, genomics and spatial analysis, as well as progress in conceptualization of global public good production for the future management of animal genetic resources, should enable the international community to address both the short- and long-term challenges in innovative ways.

The role indigenous livestock can play in Africa's Livestock Revolution is not always recognized. In many parts of Africa pure breeding with indigenous breeds is the only viable production strategy because of adverse climatic and nutritional conditions. However, there are scenarios where the higher demands of exotic breeds and their cross-breds can be met. This article discusses the possibility of improving beef production through terminal cross-breeding with two South African cattle breeds, the Nguni and the Afrikaner, with different exotic breeds. Calving difficulties were limited and birth weights were restricted to the mid-parent value or below. Cross-breeding did not have a negative effect on cow performance such as weight change and fertility, but cow productivity increased. In most cases the weaning weight of cross-bred calves was the same or exceeded that of the pure sire breed, and the feed conversion ratio was always better than either of the two parent breeds. This made the feedlot performance of the cross-breds highly desirable. These results indicate that terminal cross-breeding with indigenous African breeds deserves more attention as a means of increasing the output of beef cattle in the subtropics and tropics. An added advantage of any system of terminal cross-breeding utilizing indigenous breeds is that the conservation and utilization of the indigenous breeds of Africa is ensured, because a constant stream of purebred females will be required.

Phenotypic characterization is critical in breed improvement and conservation. To determine the performance and morphological features of Ankole cattle in three livestock production systems (LPS) of Uganda, 248 farms were studied. Height at withers (HW), heart girth (HG), body length (BL), ear length, horn length (HL), distance between horn tips (HS) and body weight (BW) were then measured on 120 bulls and 180 cows. Data were analysed using LPS (crop livestock, agropastoral, pastoral), county (Gomba, Kazo, Kiboga, Mawoggola, Nyabushozi) and sex (females, males) as main factors. In the results, age at sexual maturity was 23.6 ± 0.5 months for bulls and 22.7 ± 0.5 months for cows. Age at first calving was 33.2 ± 0.5 months, whereas calving interval was 12.9 ± 0.8 months. Lactation length differed between LPS (5.5 ± 0.4, 6.3 ± 0.3 and 7.4 ± 0.2 months in agropastoral, crop livestock and pastoral, respectively). Mean daily milk off take was 2.2 ± 0.1 kg/cow whereas preweaning calf survivability was 90.0 ± 6.5%. Sex and LPS significantly influenced HW, HL and HS. Positive correlations were observed between BW and HG, BL and HL. Correlation coefficients were much lower in females than in males, except for BW vs HG and BW vs HW. Results show wide variations both in performance and morphology suggesting that within breed selection scheme and/or management improvement may lead to productivity improvements.

Ethiopia has a diverse sheep population, numbering 23.6 million, in parallel with its diverse ecology, production systems and communities. A comprehensive phenotypic and genetic characterization of Ethiopian sheep populations was initiated in 2005 to provide a nationwide framework for the management of sheep genetic resources. In this paper, we describe the indigenous sheep types in terms of physical characteristics, eco-regional distribution and community affinity. We also present relationships of sheep types with agricultural production systems, and farmers'/pastoralists' assessment of their sheep types. Fourteen traditionally recognized sheep types were identified and physically described.

The sheep types could be categorized into four groups (sub-alpine short-fat-tailed, highland long-fat-tailed, lowland fat-rumped and lowland thin-tailed) based on their ecological distribution, tail types (fat-tail versus thin-tail), tail form/shape, and fiber type. There is high morphological and ecological diversity among the major sheep groups as well as among the sheep types. There is also a strong relationship between sheep types, ethnic groups and production systems. Assessment of the genetic distinctiveness of the traditional sheep types is important for developing rational conservation-based improvement programs. Molecular genetic assessment of the population structure is a follow up activity.

Within the EURECA project (Towards self-sustainable EUropean REgional CAttle breeds), we interviewed a total of 371 farmers of 15 local cattle breeds in eight European countries. Besides collecting data on farmers, land use, herd composition and economic role of cattle, we aimed at understanding farmers' motives and values in keeping local cattle. The most frequent first reason to keep the local breed was productivity, followed by tradition. When comparing the local breed with a mainstream breed, only in four breeds was productivity considered the same, while in three breeds more than 50 percent of farmers valued the local breed as more profitable. The local breed was valued as always superior or the same on functional traits. Farmers were asked which type of appreciation they thought representatives of various stakeholders had on their local breed: a positive appreciation was observed in 33 percent of farmers. On average across breeds, 39 percent of farmers expect to increase the size of their herd in the next few years and 5 percent plan to give up farming. The degree of dependence of farmers on economic incentives was estimated by asking farmers their expected behaviour under three scenarios of change of subsidies. Most farmers demanded activities for promoting local breed farming. The results are discussed in terms of breed sustainability and conservation.

Village chickens have been kept for millennia under patronage of smallholder farmers. Our study was intended at dissecting the signature of artificial selection and ecological variation on morphological structures of Ethiopian village chickens. This report was based on visual traits of 798 chickens and a concise one-to-one interview of 399 farmers for their preferences on chicken morphology. Significant population-specific differences in morphological counts were commonly found for rare morphological variants. Most of them were frequently seen in Jarso chickens, while some of them unique to Jarso chickens. This might be explained by the effect of location-specific evolutionary forces and differences in their breeding histories. The high within population variation in the frequency of morphological counts was observed among these panmictic chicken populations largely evolved under uncontrolled mating. Single comb was not (less) preferred by majority of the farmers (93.8 percent); it was thus present at a low frequency (26.7 percent). Farmers have shown high preference for yellow shank (42.3 percent), which was then frequently observed (61.1 percent). The reported reasons for morphological likeness were visual appeal, market demand and cultural and religious values. The absence of significant variation in preferences for chicken morphology among communities between the two study sites was attributed to their multifunctional needs.

The three breeds of goat in Nigeria - Sahel (Sh), Red Sokoto (RS) and West African Dwarf (WAD) - are described. The performance of the latter two is illustrated in the tables.

Mankind uses some 40 species of animals as domestic livestock to meet our needs for food, clothing, power, etc. Within these species, there are in total some 4,500 breeds that are referred to as the global animal genetic resources. Each breed comprises a unique set of genes. More than 30% of breeds are estimated to be at risk of extinction, and many more, particularly in developing countries, are threatened by inefficient utilization. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations has been mandated by its member nations to manage the global animal genetic resources, and major progress has been made in the last few years. However, resources are limited, and priorities will have to be set for breed conservation, for breed development programmes and for evaluation studies. Breeds that are taxonomically distinct should be favoured for conservation, the objective being to maintain maximum genetic diversity of each livestock species. Genetic distances and phylogenetic diversity provide the best available objective criterion, and microsatellites are the current markers of choice for obtaining the genetic data. Microsatellite-based genetic distances will describe breed similarities due to common ancestry, but cannot account for consequences of artificial or natural selection. Phylogenetic trees for 11 water buffalo populations in southeast Asia, constructed using 25 polymorphic protein coding loci or 21 microsatellite loci, show differences in both topology and branch lengths, but the microsatellite tree is a better representation of the similarities due to common ancestry. Thus phylogenetic diversity, based on microsatellite loci, should be used as an initial guide in making conservation decisions for livestock breeds.

The objective of this study was to characterize the native chickens reared in three agro-ecological zones of Southeastern Oromia Regional State of Ethiopia. Data on visual appraisal and linear body measurements were obtained from a total of 600 matured local chickens of both sexes drawn from 240 households. The results indicated that the average flock size, age at first egg of hens and eggs produced per clutch were 11.9 heads, 6.2 months and 15.4 eggs, respectively. The majority of the male chicken possessed snake head shape (60.7 percent) and most of them had rose combs (57.9 percent), red feather plumage (46.1 percent), yellow shanks (86.3 percent), red earlobes (84.2 percent) and yellow skin (56.8 percent). Majority of the hens possessed single combs (43.5 percent), red earlobes (77.3 percent), yellow shanks (44.4 percent), yellowish brown feather (27.4 percent) followed by red (24.2 percent) and black (21.2 percent). The cocks were generally heavier (1.39 kg) than the hens (1.22 kg). The average values for breast angle (degrees), body length, body width, shank length, shank circumference, keel bone length, wing span, comb length and beak length of the cocks were 45.9, 24.1, 24.9, 7.43, 3.86, 9.63, 7.99, 4.86 and 1.91 cm, respectively. The corresponding values for the hens were 40.2, 22.7, 23.8, 7.43, 3.46, 8.95, 7.40, 2.47 and 1.71. The values for wing span, comb length, beak length, body weight, breast angle and keel bone length differed (P < 0.05) across the agro-ecologies. The best predictor for assessing the body weight of hens was breast angle and body length, whereas in the cocks it was best estimated using breast angle and shank circumference values. The present study suggests that indigenous chickens in the study area possess useful economic traits that could be improved through systematic breeding for enhanced productivity under scavenging production systems.

To facilitate livestock improvement in developing countries, records on animal populations and their various productivity levels are important. However, in these countries, livestock recording presents a huge challenge. This paper presents an outline of the historical developments and the current scenario in dairy and beef recording in Kenya, where a recording scheme has been in place since 1963, yet the productive potential of most animals in the country remains unknown. The paper brings into context the state of recording in relation to the potential for future developments in dairy and beef production within the country. Despite the enormous existing potential, low numbers of livestock records are captured due to multiple challenges, which include limited funding, lack of incentives to record, limited feedback on records, a fragmented organizational structure, poor infrastructure, limited numbers of skilled personnel and lack of supporting policies. Strategies to overcome the challenges and achieve more sustainable utilization of the existing livestock populations are discussed. Linking recording to key service providers within the livestock production sector could enhance data collection, processing and feedback to livestock producers. The quality of extension services provided must be improved in order to holistically support livestock production. Recent international regulations on the traceability of livestock products sold within different countries mean that unless Kenya implements a robust animal recording programme, the country will be locked out of markets for its livestock products.