Over the past millennia, thousands of farm animal breeds have been developed to thrive in specific topographic and climatic locations. They are closely linked with local traditions and cultures. Industrialisation of agriculture increasingly threatens this genetically and culturally precious biodiversity. Every week, two farm animal breeds face extinction. It is estimated that 1000 breeds became extinct worldwide during the last 100 years (Protecting Animal Genetic Diversity for Food and Agriculture).

 This year, the First International Technical FAO Conference on Animal Genetic Resources is going to take place. The Conference’s main objective is to adopt a report on the state of the world’s animal genetic resources as well as to reach agreement on how best to address priorities for the sustainable use, development and conservation of farm animals genetic resources. The conference participants will come from over 160 countries.  

Conference Flyer

Switzerland is host country for this conference and the Swiss Federal Office for Agriculture (FOAG) is organising this event together with the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations). The conference is going to take place from 1 to 7 September 2007 in Interlaken.