Breeding goals & design

Trait prioritization approaches which acknowledge farmers and breeding program practitioners as human beings

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Abstract

Trait prioritization is an inevitable conundrum in the application of any genetic improvement program with a myriad of approaches taken. The objective of this paper is to summarize how human centric perspectives have become key to the successful deployment of economic selection indexes.Up until approximately 35 years ago, Trait Prioritization was a thriving research area often touted as a potential solution to disappointing and unexpected uptake of modern statistical, theoretical and molecular approaches invented to accelerate genetic progress. Despite this strong historical research base, classical applications of trait prioritization methods have struggled to make headway in a number of areas including developing countries, plants and very intensive industries such as poultry and swine. As breeding goals expand in terms of the number of traits under consideration, and genomic evaluation methods transform previously simplistic programs in plants and developing country livestock, the multi-trait conundrum has not gone away, with a high chance of growing future demand for expertise in this space.The global capability pool for trait prioritization is largely made up of relatively isolated researchers and their students who usually have in depth knowledge of their one industry geography location. It is quite common for any bio-economic analysis to be augmented using principles of desired gains in conjunction with careful index testing, to ensure that resulting indexes will be reasonably well accepted by commercial breeders and farmers. The subjective nature of some of the approaches used limit the ability for formal scientific publication. Succession planning for future talent can also be challenging.Sole reliance on non geneticists such as sociologists, gender specialists, and farm systems researchers to address trait prioritization challenges is typically disastrous, with substantial waste of resources. The primary cause of the problem is a breakdown in communication between these researchers, and either the end user farmers, or more frequently, the breeding program practitioners who ultimately have to make the key selection decisions which drive genetic change. Never-the-less, some of the more significant developments in the area of trait prioritization in recent decades have focused on human centric aspects of the problem. This includes use of survey methods and associated consultation to assess industry acceptance. Use of non-linear weightings where selection priority increases or decreases as candidate estimated breeding values approach extremes are also key to avoiding arbitrary thresholds which undermine selection efficiencies, most especially in plant breeding contexts. In conclusion, key breeding program practitioners and farmers need to be a central part of any trait prioritization process, with clear links between the trait prioritization effort and final implementation and acceptance.

Keywords: 2026

How to Cite:

Amer, P., (2026) “Trait prioritization approaches which acknowledge farmers and breeding program practitioners as human beings”, World Congress on Genetics Applied to Livestock Production Digital Archive 2026(1): 2283821. doi: https://doi.org/10.31274/wcgalp.24554

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