BOVISOL Project: Breeding and Management Practices of Indigenous Bovine Breeds: Solutions towards a Sustainable Future

Abstract

In order to deal with the effects of globalization, urbanization, increase in world population, global warming, and climate change; and according to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 2 targets, which aim to end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture, it is urgently needed to transform our agriculture and livestock farming systems by taking into account the environmental considerations. The Breeding and management practices of indigenous bovine breeds: Solutions towards a sustainable future (BOVISOL) project is a scientific cooperation between three Mediterranean countries (Greece, Tunisia and Algeria) supported and funded by the European Commission under the European Research Area Networks (ERA-NET) scheme of the 7th Framework Programme. This project has been formed around the hypothesis that the local bovine breeds must be preserved since they possess a valuable genetic pool, and they are a part of the landscape and the biodiversity of rural areas. Moreover, their products (milk, cheese, meat, etc.) could contribute significantly to the local economies as they could easily be associated with recent food trends like “local” and “slow food”, which are considered today, as, not only a mean of nutrition, but also a way of living and a part of people’s identity. BOVISOL project aims to: (i) identify the local breeds and populations in a national level, (ii) describe the existing farm and breeding practices, (iii) analyze the quality of the main local animal products, (iv) propose solutions that will promote the sustainability of the traditional farming systems, especially nowadays that climate change proposes new challenges on animal production, and (v) disseminate the solutions on all the levels of the sector (farmers, scientists, local communities, governmental agencies).

Use of multivariate analysis as a tool in the morphological characterization of the main indigenous bovine ecotypes in northeastern Algeria

“…In order to deal with the effects of globalization, urbanization, mechanization, increase in world population, global warming and climate change, it is urgently needed to transform our agriculture and livestock farming systems to more sustainable agriculture by taking into account the environmental considerations (fight against climate change, genetic characterization and monitoring of local breeds which are well adapted to the local environment, preserving and redeploying biodiversity endangered breeds) [1,2]. Moreover, this transformation aims also to provide a fair and stable income and good working conditions to farmers and could contribute significantly to social equity and local economies [3][4][5].…”

“…These indigenous cattle are all similar to the brown Atlas [9].They are subdivided into several subpopulations, which are phenotypically differentiated by at least a different phaneroptic and morphological character such as the color of the coat, the head and the size of the animal: i) the "Guelmoise" ecotype, whose coat is dark gray, commonly; ii) the Cheurfa ecotype, characterized by a light gray, almost whitish coat; iii) the "Setifiénne" characterized by a uniform blackish coat; iv) the "Fawn" (Chélifien" or "Tlemcenien"), the color of the coat of which varies between brown and beige. However, this diversity has been exposed to poorly planned crossbreeding, mainly with artificial insemination based on imported semen, which has reduced drastically the number of local breeds [5,10,11].…”

Sustainable Local Exploitation and Innovation on Meat Products Based on the Autochthonous Bovine Breed Jarmelista

“…Their conservation and sustainable use are essential to conserve future breeding and livestock use and development options as well as assist to keep rural ecosystems in balance [41]. The contribution of local bovine breeds products to the local economies with benefit of the communities has been highlighted by several authors as reviewed by [42] within the BOVISOL project. These products associated with recent "local" and "slow" food trends can be recognized as high-value products as well as "good" for the planet by consumers, public administration, and scientific community.…”

Challenges and Opportunities of the Mediterranean Indigenous Bovine Populations: Analysis of the Different Production Systems in Algeria, Greece, and Tunisia

“…The indigenous cattle production systems contribute to milk and meat supply and represent an essential source for many communities in rural areas in the Mediterranean countries [1]. These populations are extremely valuable both at the local and regional level since they combine unique qualities: a valuable locally adapted genetic pool, substantial income to the local economies, and added-value animal products.…”