LIC 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.
The initiative seeks to address food insecurity in the region by providing high-performing dairy animals to help grow sustainable dairy markets.
It 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.
LIC chief executive David Chin said the co-operative is proud to be involved with the initiative.
“Collaborating with Acceligen allows us to work with the very best in the world, whilst showcasing our advanced breeding capability to global markets.
“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.”
It is the first time LIC has embarked on a large-scale collaboration using gene-editing technologies, he said.
It successful, it could lead to similar kind of projects. It will also give LIC a good understanding of how gene editing works and the consumer acceptance of it.
“We’ll be in a much better position if the laws do change to understand how it could be used, how it could be adopted and what the technology is capable of.”
Embryos bred from LIC’s world-class 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.
Chin said gene-editing technologies could help give farmers even more tools to improve their productivity and efficiency and it was something they have to explore.
“By being involved, we do a lot of learning, we understand how this is going to work and if this is something we want to pursue, if this is something that could be interesting, then we’re in the best-placed position because we’re working with world leaders in this environment.”
The five-year project is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation with a budget of US$5 million ($8.3m).
The organisation invests heavily in agriculture development to support farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa in their efforts to sustainably raise healthy, productive animals.
