Published on September 2019 | Animal Biotechnology

The Role of Biotechnology in Animal Agriculture in an era of Climate change.

Animal agriculture is the main source of animal protein, meat, eggs, milk, and other organic products in the global livestock industry. The challenges of climate change in livestock breeding, genetics, productivity and natural resource conservation can be manage using biotechnology. It confers heat, and drought tolerance, pest and disease resistance and induce yield on sub-tropical and tropical animals. Biotechnology in molecular genetics, rumen biology and gene manipulation confer ability on animals to withstand sudden climate differences making products more nutritious, safe and cheap. Assisted biotech diagnostic test has made it possible to identify disease agents in animals and monitor the impact of control programs up to the degree of sub-species, strain and bio-type level. Biotechnology–derived vaccine has become safer and cheaper than conventional vaccines. They offer no risk reversal to virulent form, stable at room temperature and do not require refrigerator storage which is of importance for rural smallholder farmers in the tropics.The technology allows the use of new traits in animal agriculture, improving farmer’s ability to manage climate conditions with reduce carbon emission and production cost by decreasing demand on in-field applications. Biotechnology remains a viable tool for unlocking genetic codes and repositioning the global livestock industry in an era of climate change. Its application increases resilience of animal production systems in the face of new climate and disease challenges.