3rd Agriculture Webinar

Use of Genetics and Genomics to Improve the Productivity and Profitability of Smallholder Livestock Farmers

Genomic selection uses information from a large number of genetic markers or single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in conjunction with measurements of important traits in livestock and plants (phenotypes) to estimate breeding values without requiring precise knowledge of where specific genes are located in the genome. The principles of genomic selection were initially proposed by Meuwissen, Hayes and Goddard in 2001 (Genetics, 2001, 157: 1819-1829). Since then, genomic selection has been widely adopted in animal and plant breeding programs globally because of its ability to improve selection accuracy, reduce phenotyping and generation intervals and increase genetic gains. It has transformed the livestock and plant industries, as well as delivering human health diagnostic applications, adding billions of dollars and strong social and environmental benefits, particularly across the world’s higher-income countries. Genomic selection offers great potential in low-to-middle income countries, but there are a number of significant challenges still facing the livestock sectors in those typically tropical production environments. Those challenges include the difficulty and expenses of recording the range of economically important productive and adaptive phenotypes; lack of on-farm, laboratory and computing infrastructure; and lack of human capacity. Research now being undertaken in conjunction with smallholder farmers in those tropical countries is starting to provide solutions to many of those challenges. This webinar will examine those challenges, as well as new and emerging opportunities to mitigate or reduce the problems, thereby enabling smallholder livestock keepers and their associated value chains to also benefit directly from genomic selection.

Date: 12 October 2022

Time: 1:00 pm CEST | 7:00 am EDT | 7:00 pm CST Asia

Webinar ID: 865 5114 7095

Webinar Secretariat: agriculture.webinar@mdpi.com