Competitiveness of Spanish Local Breeds

Dear Colleagues,

Spain is among the countries with the greatest diversity of local breeds, as a result of an extensive and heterogeneous cultural and agroecological heritage. The advancement of industrial farming, more focused on cost efficiency and food production for globalized markets, has progressively reduced the utility of local breeds. The loss of competitiveness of traditional farming systems linked to local breeds, and factors such as depopulation of rural areas, have expanded the list of local breeds at risk of extinction.

However, Spanish local breeds provide multiple transferable models to other environments on how to generate and make use of competitive advantages based on consumer preferences, interests of society or attributes of the farming system, among others. In this sense, there are many related factors, including food safety, the circular economy, mitigation of environmental impacts and adaptation to climate change, animal welfare, higher quality, and sensory acceptance by consumers, with differentiation through market-oriented labelling statements. In fact, Spain is among the countries with the highest volume of production of differentiated quality schemes such as Organic Farming, Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) or Protected Designation of Origin (PDO).

In addition, the paths to improve efficiency and production costs without damaging quality and promoting farm sustainability are challenges that must be addressed if the survival of local breeds is to be achieved.

This Special Issue offers a platform for the dissemination of research findings on issues related to the competitiveness of Spanish local breeds, focused on their transferability to other production environments and/or their practical application on commercial farms.

Prof. Dr. José Perea
Dr. Ramón Arias
Guest Editors

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