"This is the first step to reform breeding work." What experts say about a unified information system for breeding stock

Draft Law No. 316685-8 “On Amendments to the Federal Law “On Breeding Animal Husbandry” and Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation” (regarding the creation of a federal state information and analytical system of breeding resources, FGIAS PR) was adopted by the upper house of parliament immediately in the second and third readings.

The document says that FGIAS PR is created in order to ensure the registration of breeding animals and breeding herds, breeding farms, as well as to analyze and process the information provided in the information and analytical system of breeding resources about breeding animals, breeding herds, breeding farms and issued permits for the import of breeding products (material).

The creation and operation of FGIAS PR is also aimed at developing domestic breeding livestock and reducing dependence on the supply of genetic material from abroad, the explanatory note to the draft law notes.

The provision of such information by breeding farms to the federal database will be voluntary. At the same time, the law establishes mandatory requirements for the state registration of breeding animals and breeding herds, which are associated with doing business.

The objects of state registration are breeding animals and breeding herds that have passed the proper examination of breeding value. At the same time, it is not necessary to enter into the system information about breeding animals and (or) breeding herds, the purposes of which are not related to the reproduction of a particular breed.

The list of breeding animals, registration of which is carried out by herds, is determined by the federal executive body .

Organizations providing services in the field of livestock breeding (livestock breeding control and testing station, hippodrome, laboratory for selection control of the quality of milk, wool, laboratory for immunogenetic examination, information support center and other organizations for livestock breeding) keep records of genotypic and phenotypic characteristics of breeding products (material ) for the use of these traits in animal breeding.

The law comes into force on September 1, 2023, however, the provisions regarding the FGIAS PR will be applicable from March 1, 2026.

What tasks does the law solve?

As stated in the explanatory note to the draft federal law "On Amendments to the Federal Law" On Breeding Animal Husbandry", the lack of a unified database of breeding animals is a constraining factor in the development of the domestic base of breeding livestock. Analysis and study of the practices of breeding and breeding work with

animals developed countries points to the mandatory use of appropriate information systems as a tool necessary for the maximum implementation of the genetic progress of animal populations.

Modern systems of selection and breeding work with animals are based on the intensive use of the best genotypes in the system of reproduction of the genetic resources of breeds. At the same time, one of the main criteria for the effectiveness of this system is the quality and efficiency of incoming information.

According to PionerProduct LLC , information about breeding animals bred in dairy and beef cattle breeding, sheep breeding, pig breeding, goat breeding, horse breeding, deer breeding, fur farming, rabbit breeding and camel breeding will be entered into the federal electronic database. Also, information on issued permits for the import of such products will be included in a single information system.

The regulation on the federal system of breeding resources, including the procedure for its formation and the list of information contained, will be approved by the Cabinet. The government will also determine the terms and procedure for state registration of breeding animals.

What are industry experts saying?

Dairy market participants welcome the adoption of the law. At the same time, everyone saw a number of nuances that can both facilitate and complicate the work of breeding companies.

Director of the Dairy Market Research Center (DIA) Mikhail Mishchenko believes that the work that will be carried out within the framework of a single base of breeding stock is really potentially needed, including accounting for farm animals.

“If only partial information on the registration of purely pedigree cattle is entered into the database, then this will not bring any positive result in the accounting of all farm animals. It is also not clear who will have access to the resources of this information and analytical system. If these are only state bodies, then we clearly understand that this system is needed solely for the implementation of punitive functions with subsequent fines,” the expert notes.

Operations DirectorKSITEST Yuri Pekov said that the law most likely meets the real needs of the industry. A unified non-commercial database of animals is necessary, although it is not the final solution to the creation of a common breeding system. A possible next stage is free access to animal phenotypes for all market participants. According to the expert, there is a danger of increasing the burden on specialists, because they will have to report in different places.

“And, of course, we are waiting for only animals to become breeding, not farms or herds. There are “good” and “bad” animals in any herd, and only the best animals should be used for breeding, regardless of where they were born. Thus, all enterprises will have additional opportunities for maneuver and selection work,” Yury Pekov added.

Polina Shevyakova , a lawyer from the Russian Association of Holstein Cattle Producers , emphasized that the law meets the real needs of the industry, since a common database is needed, this is the first step to reform breeding work.

“As for the comments to the law, I will clarify that, of course, the new instrument raises some questions, explanations, and so on. At the same time, according to the Ministry of Agriculture of Russia, the Association will be involved at all stages of creating the system, starting with the development of its model, testing, including the preparation of the necessary regulatory legal acts. So we will be able to promptly offer the right solutions, in our opinion, and immerse the breeding farms - members of the Association in this topic, ”added the expert.

Development Director of Alta Genetics Russia Sergey Savin is sure that the appearance of the law is one of the important initial stages of the process, the result of which will be a single information service that consolidates a large amount of data on breeding animals and market participants. It is the quality of the implementation of this service, as well as the reliability of the data in the system, that will affect its assessment by users.

“The potential of the idea is very large, and our state has successful examples of the implementation of such large-scale services. Jobthere is a lot to be done, both in terms of the development of lower regulatory documents, and the implementation of the service in practice. I hope that when developing this system, all the comments of the industry community will be taken into account so that the final information product will be in demand,” the expert comments.