Autochthonous Breeds of Republic of Serbia and Valuation in Food Industry: Opportunities and challenges

Abstract

Climate change and the emergence of new animal diseases emphasize the need to maintain and conserve plant and animal resources because of their adaptive capacity. For hundreds of millions of poor rural households, livestock produc-tion and crop farming are a key resource for life. Livestock production has great contribution and is vitally important for the life and safety of crop production. Conservation of animal genetic resources is not easy and simple, but it is of con-cern that in the past some animal genetic resources have been lost before their characterization and their genetic potential has not been studied. It is known that with the loss of a single breed or strain, the genetic diversity contained within also disappears. That is why it is necessary to continuously work on the conservation of animal genetic resources using various methods of conservation. The preservation and improvement of livestock production and animal genetic diversity, the preser-vation and the development of locally adapted (autochthonous) new breeds, as well as the preservation of genetically diverse populations provide society with a greater range of options to meet future challenges and further develop agriculture.