Integration of Genomics into Community-Based Breeding Programmes for Chickens: an Overview of Opportunities, Challenges, and Potential Benefits

If successfully implemented, community-based breeding programmes (CBBPs) can increase productivity of local livestock breeds without weakening their adaptation, tolerance and genetic diversity. Nonetheless, many of the existing CBBPs focus on ruminants, thus undermining their benefits to poultry species including chickens. Further, robust application of genomics for sustainable genetic improvement of chickens in ensuring food security and poverty alleviation under the low and medium input systems are presently not well elaborated in the scientific literature. This review therefore focuses on the recent advances in the genetic improvement programmes for chickens. Specifically, structured and sustainable implementation of genomics-based CBBPs, including the opportunities, potential benefits, challenges and risk mitigation options, target groups' involvement, economic implications, and resource mobilisation with private, public, non-government, and international development agencies are explored. Integration of genomic approaches such as genome-wide association studies would enhance efficient identification of the most appropriate genetic variants required for advanced improvement of chickens in CBBPs. An approach like genomic selection would also increase accuracy of evaluation and subsequent rate of genetic gain in the targeted traits. Meanwhile, the design and implementation of genomics-based CBBPs for chickens are relatively complex and costly due to factors such as limited technical capacity of LMISs to apply genomics, capital-intensive infrastructure requirement, heterogeneity in genomic data and its storage due to big size, computational burden in terms of cumbersome analytical procedures, and inadequate investment in CBBPs by the private and public sectors. However, genomics-based CBBPs are achievable and profitable given the few evidences presented here. Success of such programmes depend on the breeding goal and available resources. Farmers-scientists based collaboration, business model approach, contractual agreement, consistent record keeping, enabling policies and institutions, capacity enhancement, community sensitisation, as well as purposeful utilisation of modern biotechnology tools, among others, are key factors for a successful implementation of genomics-based CBBPs.