Is cross-breeding with indigenous sheep breeds an option for climate-smart agriculture?

Abstract

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Food securers or invasive aliens? Trends and consequences of non-native livestock introgression in developing countries

“… Karugia et al (2001) concluded that crossbreeding of cattle had a positive effect on the Kenyan economy and social welfare, although they speculated that the introduction of exotic genes may have not been beneficial at farm level, because improved animal productivity also involved accrued input costs. By contrast, Hegde (2018) reported positive economic impacts of crossbreeding for Indian cattle farmers, with the number of above-poverty-line families increasing by 262% over a ten-year period. In Senegal, Marshall et al (2017) found that under good management, 50% indigenous Zebu by Bos taurus crossbreds for dairy production provided greater net economic benefits to households than did alternative options involving pure indigenous, highly introgressed (with Bos Taurus) or alternative crosses.…”

“…As a consequence, national livestock authorities in developing countries frequently integrate the extensive use of exotic livestock in their development strategies aiming at increasing the productivity of their livestock production systems (see for instance DAPH, 2010 ; GOI, 2013 ; Shapiro et al, 2015 , 2017 ). Abundant literature documents the theoretical and practical impacts of crossbreeding and breed replacement at the local level ( Galukande et al, 2013 ; Getachew et al, 2016 ; Roschinsky et al, 2015 ; Wilkes et al, 2017 ). Various studies have shown that in appropriate production environments, milk yield of crossbred cattle can be 2 to 2.6 times greater than of pure indigenous breeds, with associated increases in farmers’ income ( Galukande et al, 2013 ; Hegde, 2018 ).…”

Increases in extreme heat stress in domesticated livestock species during the twenty‐first century

“…Cross‐breeding highly selected breeds with indigenous breeds may offer adaptation benefits in some situations, although its effectiveness as an adaptation appears dependent on context (Moore & Ghahramani, 2014 ; Wilkes et al, 2017 ). There is some scope for genetic improvement in animals to increase tolerance to heat stress, such as making use of the slick hair gene in cattle (Ortiz‐Colón et al, 2018 ) or the naked neck gene in poultry (Nawab et al, 2018 ).…”

Navigating the continuum between adaptation and maladaptation

“…Overall, most examples of those adaptations also reduced GHG emissions, and some were transformational, such as the efforts to redefine cities with 'living infrastructure' 77 . In the case of food security, many adaptations to farm-level practices have been shown to benefit low-income populations or marginalized ethnic groups [78][79][80][81][82] , and many of these responses have not meaningfully increased GHG emissions [83][84][85] . For example, conservation agriculture in India resulted in increased yields and reduction in GHG emissions 84 .…”