Cattle conservation in the Mediterranean
In comparison to international breeds, local cattle breeds are often well-adapted to local conditions. Despite this inherent advantage, Egypt and other Mediterranean countries have not protected the diversity of their local breeds, which are now threatened with extinction.The EU-funded CATTLECON IKTA project was established to build research capacity in this field. The universities involved were the University of Cordoba (Spain) and Ain Shams University (Egypt). CATTLECON IKTA has created a permanent research network between these institutions to allow sharing of molecular and genetic knowledge and tools. This included a web-based training platform that can be found on the project website.Two training courses were also held at Ain Shams University for graduate and postgraduate researchers. One focused on the conservation of cattle genetic resources, and the other on genetic techniques for livestock conservation. In addition, several researcher exchanges have taken place between the two universities to build research capacity and strengthen institutional ties. Taken together, the CATTLECON IKTA initiatives have contributed greatly to regional capacity for cattle conservation research in the Mediterranean.
Keywords
Cattle, livestock conservation, local breed, Mediterranean countries, genetic resources
