Local animal breeds: the foundations for innovative and sustainable livestock farming in the West Indies

Local breeds represent a distinctive and unique heritage due to the processes that have shaped them, in conjunction with the region’s history. They are also deeply embedded in local production systems, through their rearing methods and uses. They have thus developed particularly useful zootechnical traits in terms of production performance and adaptability. The most recent scientific research, using modern methods of genotyping and variability analysis, highlights their distinctiveness. These local breeds therefore provide a valuable model for studying how animals adapt to tropical farming conditions. They therefore represent a key genetic resource, at a time when concerns regarding adaptive traits are becoming a priority in the current context of climate change and rising input costs. Livestock farmers are thus finding it increasingly beneficial to make the most of the traits of their local breeds. The tools exist to ensure the conservation of these resources and to improve population management through breeding programmes. Their economic development could be based on the promotion of specific products, drawing on recognised qualities. Local livestock breeds thus constitute a heritage to be preserved, a source of innovation for the livestock sector of the future.