The Brazilian Dairy Gir Breeding Programme is a public-private partnership between the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation and the Brazilian Association of Dairy Gir Breeders, which was established in 1985 in order to improve the Gir indicine breed for milk production in tropical regions. It is the first breeding programme of its kind in the world, and has made use of various technical innovations over the years, including genomic predictions for thousands of Gir males and females. These predictions are mainly used by Brazilian breeders, but are also increasingly being utilised in other tropical countries in South America, Central America and Asia.
One of the major challenges in milk production in tropical areas is the impact of heat stress and recurrent parasite infestations on the fitness and productivity of cattle. The Gir breed, which originates from India, is better adapted to these conditions than European breeds, and has therefore been used in crossbreeding schemes to create dairy herds in the tropics. In Brazil, some breeders have also begun selecting purebred Gir for milk production in an effort to improve the performance of crossbred herds.
The breeding programme has had notable success in improving the productivity and reproductive performance of the Gir breed, with average milk yield increasing by 25% over the past two decades. It has also developed a genetic improvement programme for beef production using Gir, and there are now more than seven million Gir cows in Brazil, making it the third most populous breed in the country.
In addition to its work in Brazil, the programme has also collaborated with other countries in the tropics to enhance the productivity of their dairy industries. This includes providing technical assistance, training and genomic predictions to countries such as Colombia, Mexico and India.
Overall, the Brazilian Dairy Gir Breeding Programme has made important contributions to the improvement of the Gir breed for milk and beef production in tropical regions, and its public-private partnership model has proved to be a successful approach to breeding and genetic improvement in the dairy industry.
Gyr Cattle 