The Agriculture Ministry in its continued efforts to modernize the livestock sector has adapted the embryo transfer technology program to improve beef and dairy genetics.
The technology is globally recognized as the fastest method of genetic improvement in herds without moving the live breeding cattle.
The process improves cattle reproduction through the insertion of in-vitro fertilized embryos into the uterus of a selected recipient cow with the aim to induce pregnancy.
Acting Senior Research Officer Livestock, Ronil Prasad says this technology allows for the developing of pure-bred embryos under sterilized laboratory conditions from the donor cattle and the local recipient cattle to synchronize to accept these embryos.
The Ministry is now in the second phase of the program and a team of biotechnology experts from Australia recently transferred 90 embryos into local cows at the Livestock Research stations around the country.
Prasad says the first lot of embryos was transferred into 78 cows at the Sigatoka Research Station in December last year and the success rate is 51%.
These cows are due to give birth in September this year.
