LIC joins global partners to drive for better African dairy cows

AFRICA – LIC, an agri-tech and herd improvement co-operative, is collaborating with United States-based precision breeding company Acceligen and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to breed heat-tolerant and disease-resistant dairy cows for sub-Saharan Africa.

Headquartered in Hamilton, New Zealand, LIC, empowers livestock farmers through the delivery of superior genetics and technology.

The initiative will combine LIC’s knowledge in breeding efficient dairy cows for pasture-based systems, with Acceligen’s cutting-edge gene-editing capabilities to produce animals that can produce more milk than native species.

The partnership seeks to address food insecurity in the region by providing high-performing dairy animals to help grow sustainable dairy markets. 

LIC chief executive David Chin said the co-operative is proud to be involved with the initiative as it will be the first time the cooperative will handle such a large-scale collaboration using gene-editing technologies.

“Collaborating with Acceligen allows us to work with the very best in the world, whilst showcasing our advanced breeding capability to global markets,” Chin underscored.

 “The initiative supports us to stay at the forefront of the latest technologies and is an opportunity to leverage international expertise with positive benefits for the dairy sector.”   

Embryos bred from LIC’s pasture-based genetics will be sent to the US, where Acceligen will perform gene edits on the stem cells.

These embryos will be sent from New Zealand to Acceligen in the last quarter of this year. The gene-editing process and birth of the calves that will grow into elite sires is expected to run until January 2026 and at that point, the bull calves are transported to Brazil where they are reared and their semen collected.

The semen straws are expected to be ready for sale in Africa through a distributer network by mid-2027.

The embryos will then be transferred into dams that will give birth to gene-edited sires. The bull calves will be transported to Brazil for rearing. The semen will be collected from these sires and sold into Sub-Saharan African markets through a developed distributor network.

Chin said the calves are being reared in Brazil for practical reasons. Brazil has a good reputation for rearing animals, it is a cost-effective option and most importantly, the country is well placed to export to other global markets including Africa.

The NZ government has committed to legislative change to enable the greater use of gene technologies, ending the effective ban on gene editing by the end of 2025.

Another dairy initiative that has been a success is the African Dairy Genetics Gains (ADGG) program, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, focused on developing partnerships on dairy cattle farmers to overcome challenges and improve dairy production in the country.

This project has enabled farmers across Africa to produce more milk from hybrid cows and move beyond subsistence farming into developing businesses.

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