THE ROLE OF ACSAD IN INVENTORY, CHARACTERIZATION AND CONSERVATION OF
ANIMAL GENETIC RESOURCES IN THE ARAB STATES- REVIEW
AL-AGHBARI, ABDULWALI MOHAMMED
Director of Animal Wealth Department- in The League of Arab States-ACASD; & Head of two programs: The Genetic Improvement
of Small Ruminants & The Inventory and Characterization of Animal Genetic Resources in Arab States ([email protected])
CONCLUTIONS
INTRODUCTION
10- Reproducing and improving the productivity of some breeds of indigenous
animal genetic resources in the participated Arab States.
250
250
128
100
ACSAD’s experts designed promised projects during 1980-2015 to achieve
the planned goals. The technical description and components for the
preparation of studies, Encyclopedias and Atlas are highlighted as follow:
a- Information sources
ACSAD
• A national survey conducted in the Arab States.
• Available Information in the preceding issues by ACSAD.
• Previous reports on animal genetic resources in the world.
b- Mechanism of Action
• Preparing survey forms, represents all activities associated with the
development of livestock and poultry.
• Training of working groups on using and filling out forms, and information
analysis and result extraction
• Creating a database to store information.
• Preparing scientific texts with clear digital images for each animal species.
• Printing the colored version, and distributing to decision makers and
stakeholders in the Arab States.
Results
1- Encyclopedias issued by the Arab Center ACSAD
1. General encyclopedias ACSAD issued 21
encyclopedias (one per state) included
inventory and characterization of animal
genetic resources deployed in all Arab
countries
2. Specialized encyclopedias these include;
two encyclopedias for characterization the
indigenous sheep and goat breeds, three
encyclopedias for characterization of
indigenous buffalo, camels, and cows and
an encyclopedia of wild animals, antelope,
deer and elk.
50
157
157
150
210
108
97
73
64
54
0
network
60
32
19
12
16
7
9
16
5
‫ﻣﻔﺮد‬
39
30
26
23
46
12
16
Twins %
125
196
Twins %
Milk production (Kg)
Material and Methods
200
154
254
Milk Line‫ﺧط‬
‫اﻟﺣﻠﯾب‬
Breeder
‫اﻟﻣرﺑﯾن‬
‫ﺷﺑﻛﺔ‬
‫اﻟﻠﺣم‬
Meat ‫ﺧط‬
Line
Dual purposes
‫اﻟﻐرض‬
‫ﺛﻧﺎﺋﻲ‬
Milk production (Kg)
220
200
150
245
258
50
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
‫ اﻟﺘﻮاﺋﻢ‬%
300
‫ﺛﻨﺎﺋﻲ‬
‫ﺛﻼﺛﻲ واﻛﺜﺮ‬
52
50
50
40
34. 2
25
30
23
15. 8
20
10
7
0
2013
2014
Year
Milk‫ﺧط‬
‫اﻟﺣﻠﯾب‬
Line
Meat
‫اﻟﻠﺣم‬
‫ﺧط‬
Line
Dual
‫اﻟﻐرض‬
‫ﺛﻧﺎﺋﻲ‬
purposes
Year
Breeder
‫اﻟﻣرﺑﯾن‬
‫ﺷﺑﻛﺔ‬
network
Milk production in Awassi
lines and breeder network
Twins % in Awassi lines
and breeder network
Improvement of Milk
production of Shami goat
Percentage of Birth’s
type of Shami goat
Quaternary
Tripartite
9- Deployment of embryo production and transfer techniques of small
ruminants in Arab Stats
Training the technicians on cryoconserving of
endangered animal genetic resources due to the
current situation in in some Arab States such as
Syria.
8- The deployment of small ruminant artificial
insemination technics in the Arab States
ACSAD constructed four artificial
insemination laboratories (Syria,
Algeria, Tunisia, Libya ), to assist on Ex
situ cryoconserving the threaten
species via storage semen straws in
liquid nitrogen and to ensure the
propagation of indigenous breeds at
risk by raising breeder herd’s fertility
and birth rates.
Training technicians
Awassi & Shami
Males
7-Designing and making of integrated feed unit for feed
templates
To overcome the lack of feed resources as risk
factor; ACSAD made more than 15 units and
distributed them to the participated Arab States.
6-Evaluating forage resources in arid and semiarid areas in the Arab countries.
2- ACSAD issued Atlas of farm animals in the Arab countries in 2011
It was included the population, disruptions, description, and evaluation of
small ruminants, cows, buffaloes, camels, horses, donkeys, chickens,
rabbits, and pigeons.
Fodder
Templates
ACSAD’s manufacturing feed unite
• ACSAD issued 21 studies on the feed sources, in
the Arab countries.
• Carried out 13 studies for the fodder budgets
• ACSAD issued nutritional value of forage
resources and flora pastoral in the Arab countries
and the Middle East in Arabic and English guide
Issues of
fodder
budgets
5-ACSAD formed camel research and development network in the 12 Arab
and foreign countries
The number of animal breeds per each
animal species in the Arab countries.
Numbers of livestock breeds per
region in the Arab countries.
3. Studies and guidance releases and scientific papers for Animal Genetic
Resources
ACSAD has issued more than 403
studies and guidance, leaflets
and scientific papers in the fields
of breeding and husbandry,
nutrition, reproductive health of
animal genetic resources in the
Arab countries
4-In situ gene banks in some of the participated Arab States
Through the cooperation between
ACSAD and the Arab states, In situ
gene banks for indigenous breeds
have been set up in order to
reproduce them, study their genetic
and breeding values ​and re- distribute
them to breeders. Therefore, 22
stations were established for raising
indigenous sheep, goats and camels in
13 participated Arab States.
The League of Arab States, The Arab Center for the Studies of Arid Zones and Dry Lands (ACSAD). Damascus, Syria
Exogenous breeds cannot be adopted or benefit from the pasture in harsh
environment, whereas, the indigenous livestock are threaten by several
factors; Random breeding, Slaughtering females, smuggling animals, climate
changes and spread of drought, diseases, and crises as result food security,
sustainable development and the livelihoods of millions of people are
diminishing. To face this fact, the Arab Center/ACSAD established the
program of inventory and characterization of genetic resources in the Arab
states for the following main objectives
• Inventory and characterization of animal genetic resources to detect and
conserve endangered animal species in the In situ and Ex situ gene banks
in the Arab states.
• Enrich the database knowledge of animal genetic resources in the Arab
countries.
• Evaluating the development of animal genetic resources populations,
distribution, productivity, and breeding systems with cooperating with
national and international agencies, and breeder associations.
• Activating technical cooperation and exchange of experiences between
Arab countries
• Supporting activities (training, extensions, meetings etc.) that help
Ministries of Agriculture, breeders, and technicians to apply modern
techniques for controlling factors threating animal species.
• Encouraging the decision makers to build up breeder associations and In
situ banks