9 new breeds of indigenous livestock registered

Nine new breeds of indigenous farm animals have been registered by the Karnal-based Indian Council of Agricultural Research-National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources (ICAR-NBAGR), taking the total number of indigenous breeds of livestock in the country to 160.

The breed registration committee of the ICAR in its recent meeting here approved the registration of the new breeds of livestock and poultry.

The cataloguing of India’s animal genetic resources by the ICAR and registration of breeds is aimed at creating a sense of ownership among local communities responsible for development of breeds.

The new germplasm of indigenous farm animals registered as breeds by the NBAGR includes one breed of cattle, two breeds each of goat and sheep, three breeds of pig, and one breed of chicken.

‘Helps in inventorisation’

“The registration of various unique populations as breeds shall help in inventorisation, improvement, conservation and sustainable utilisation of animal genetic resources of the country,” said Dr. Trilochan Mohapatra, Director General, ICAR, after giving away certificates to the applicants who registered nine new breeds.

Notably, “registration” is documentation of the knowledge, skills and techniques (KST), and biological resources of local communities. Recognising the need for an authentic national documentation system of valuable sovereign genetic resource with known characteristics, the ICAR had initiated the mechanism for registration of animal germplasm through the NBAGR.

In 2008, the ICAR constituted a breed registration committee under the chairmanship its Deputy Director General (Animal Science) for the purpose. The mechanism is the sole recognised process for registration of animal genetic resources material at national level.