Learning Resilience in Local Livestock Breeds from COVID-19 Pandemic

Federica Turri, Flavia Pizzi and Gustavo Gandini
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Federica Turri: Institute of Agricultural Biology and Biotechnology, National Research Council, Via Einstein, 26900 Lodi, Italy
Flavia Pizzi: Institute of Agricultural Biology and Biotechnology, National Research Council, Via Einstein, 26900 Lodi, Italy
Gustavo Gandini: Institute of Agricultural Biology and Biotechnology, National Research Council, Via Einstein, 26900 Lodi, Italy

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 4, 1-6

Abstract: In situ conservation of local breeds requires populations in economically sustainable and resilient production systems. In those countries where the market recognizes the quality of the products of local breeds, the traditional relationship between local breeds and products can be used to improve breed profitability. We analyze sales data from year 2020 of five dairy products associated with endangered local breeds farmed in northern Italy, in order to understand the potential resilience of these production systems, in terms of ability to persist and to adapt to disturbances associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. All breed-cheese systems showed good capacity to persist during the COVID-19 pandemic, with four systems even increasing sales with respect to the period 2017–2019. Three breed-cheese systems showed rapid adaptation to the new conditions by modifying sales channels, including the introduction of e-commerce.

Keywords: in situ conservation; resilience; local livestock breeds; COVID-19; dairy products (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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