PREPARATORY ACTION EU plant and animal genetic resources in agriculture

Compendium of projects

CROATIA

Permanent preservation of Istrian cattle

The publication is part of the study “Preparatory action on EU plant and animal genetic resources in agriculture”. The Preparatory Action has been initiated by the European Parliament and financed by the European Commission.

The objectives of the Preparatory action are to better understand the stakes of European neglected genetic resources in agriculture and to tap onto their economic potential.

It aims to provide inspiring examples of how to make the conservation of neglected breeds and varieties economically viable and encourage farmers and other stakeholders to engage.

Funded by the European Union

Legal notice The information and views set out in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official opinion of the European Commission. The Commission does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this publication. Neither the Commission nor any person acting on the Commission's behalf may be held responsible

1 Introduction The Istrian cattle population has been sharply decreasing over the last decades. A project called “Permanent preservation of Istrian cattle” has recently been established with the objective of recovering the autochthonous breed and of supporting the progressive increase of its population by sustaining the economic viability of cattle breeding. As a consequence, Istrian cattle meat is now again available in elite gastronomic shops and selected restaurants in the region, and the number of breeders is growing.

2 Description of the genetic resource Istrian cattle has an important place in the Croatian genetic and cultural heritage. In the past, these working cattle were particularly appreciated for their strength and for the quality of their meat. The population of Istrian cattle decreased sharply over the 70’s and 80’s due to the decline of agriculture in rural areas, and to the increasing orientation towards tourism, industrialisation and specialisation of agrarian production. The result of this process became evident in the 1990’s when the population of Istrian cattle dropped to less than 700 heads. At the beginning of 2000s, a renewed interest for local ancient breeds started to grow, and some projects were started with the objective of recovering and preserving autochthonous breeds. Among them, the Istrian cattle project was particularly effective in meeting the interest of the wider community and in ensuring growth in the number of heads. Today, around 1 900 Istrian cattle heads exist in the region.

3 Objectives of the project The objectives of the “Permanent preservation of Istrian cattle” project were the following:  To maintain and preserve a genetic diversity and the specific characteristics of this breed.  To sustain the economic viability of breeding activities also thanks to an effective commercial exploitation of the Istrian cattle.

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The main objective of the “Permanent preservation of Istrian cattle” project is the consolidation of breeding activities and the valorisation and promotion of Istrian cattle meat as a high quality product, in order to increase the economic profitability for breeders and to revive their interest towards this ancient breed.

4 Actors involved and roles The project involved a wide range of stakeholders: the Agency for Rural Development of Ltd Pazin (AZRRI); the Istrian County; the Croatian Agricultural Agency (HPA); the Association of Istrian Cattle Breeders (SUIG); the University of , Faculty of Agriculture; the Croatian Livestock Centre; the Tourist High Schools in Porec, and ; the Istria Tourist Board; the Croatian Culinary Federation; the Association of Artisans of Istria. The Agency for Rural Development of Istria Ltd Pazin (AZRRI) ensured the coordination of the project, facilitating its implementation and providing guidance to the other stakeholders. The Istrian cattle breeders association (SUIG), the University of Zagreb Faculty of Agriculture and the Croatian Livestock Centre worked together to assess the initial state of the Istrian cattle population and its successive evolution. AZRRI also established long-term cooperation with some breeders whose economic earnings were primarily related to the production of calves and yearlings for meat. The experts from AZRRI Ltd Pazin, together with the Faculty of Agriculture of the University of Zagreb and the Croatian Livestock Centre1 coordinated the management of beef production (veal, baby beef and beef), developing specific procedures and providing information about cattle preservation and management of flattened head, feeding, age, body mass, health care and reproduction. Furthermore, AZRRI worked together with the Istria Tourist Board, The Croatian Culinary Federation and the Association of Artisans of Istria to promote the Istrian cattle meat, to create new recipes and to have them included in the menus of a number of high-level restaurants and catering services. The Croatian Culinary Federation and the Association of Artisans of Istria collaborated with the Tourist High Schools in Porec, Rovinj and Pula to ensure the integration in the education programmes of the knowledge on the different preparations based on the Istrian cattle meat.

5 Steps and activities undertaken A number of different activities were undertaken in the framework of the “Permanent preservation of Istrian cattle” project. High-quality breeding heads were acquired from older breeders and transferred through the Programme to younger breeders, with the objective of progressively increasing herd size. A cooperation and technical support program was established, involving the Agency for Rural Development of Istria Ltd Pazin, the Association of Istrian Cattle Breeders (SUIG), the University of Zagreb Faculty of Agriculture, the Croatian Livestock Centre, and other stakeholders.

1 Currently the Croatian Agricultural Agency.

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More in detail, the project activities included:  The initial determination of the basis for production / state of the population.  Coordination activities between the breeding and the commercial part of the supply chain.  Proposing and explaining the ways and procedures for keeping, reproduction, feeding, and fattening.  The definition of the technology for beef production by fattening of calves and yearlings.  The establishment of technological procedures for slaughtering, meat maturation, storage and meat arranging.  The identification of quantitative and qualitative characteristics and of the actual potential of Istrian cattle for beef production.  Evaluation of the meat of Istrian cattle with respect to traditional beef markets, also proposing and explaining new ways of selling meat on high-level, tourist-oriented markets.  The definition of the organisational structure and business relationships of the Istrian cattle breeders association (SUIG).  Start of the registration procedure to obtain the Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) for Istrian cattle meat, by defining specific breeding and slaughtering procedures.  The creation of the conditions to establish a Centre for Istrian cattle.  The development of educational workshops for professionals and interested consumers.  Activities aimed at promoting Istrian native breeds, emphasizing the connection between traditional forms of livestock farming and the preservation of natural resources, biodiversity and the traditional landscape of the Mediterranean Karst.

6 Results to date The "Permanent preservation of Istrian cattle" project stimulated the enlargement of the Istrian cattle population and provided breeders with additional income opportunities. More in detail, the achieved results include:  The growth of the Istrian cattle population from 700 to 1 900 heads.  Increased number of farms with an optimal number of heads (20-50).  The creation of the programme “Beef meat of Istrian cattle”.  The development of a special label for restaurants proposing Istrian cattle meat in their menus.  Increased interest in the Istrian breed, also due to the high nutritional value of its meat.  A new enhanced economic sustainability of Istrian cattle breeding: a 25 cattle heads farm can achieve a yearly income of around 15 000 €.

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7 Next steps The project allowed to demonstrate the high potential of the Istrian cattle breed as meat cattle and stimulated the identification of a number of additional activities for further implementation, including: 1. An ongoing work to further increase the profitability of cattle breeding through more efficient production, marketing plans and effective commercial and promotional activities. 2. Strengthening of the institutional capacity of the Association of Istrian Cattle Breeders (SUIG). 3. Development of a programme of prolonged fattening of bullocks thought the training of family breeders in this activity. 4. Development of programmes to create new meat products to be obtained from Istrian cattle. 5. Promotion of other Istrian native breeds.

8 Lesson learned and good practices The “Permanent preservation of Istrian cattle” project achieved its results through the development of a strong multidisciplinary approach, based on an extended team work and benefitting from a wide and diversified network including breeders, processors, traders, caterers, scientific institutions, and local, regional and national governments. A good cooperation among all the actors – from scientific institutions, breeders’ organisations, local and regional governments, tourist organisations, gastronomic organisations, cultural organisations - in a quite small project can be considered one of the key factors which contributed to its success. Both Istrian population and visitors (or tourists) welcomed the message of buying and using Istrian cattle meat. The use of meat products from Istrian cattle has become an element for nature and environment preservation in Istria. Additional success factors included also the long-term support which the Istrian Region ensured to the project. Challenges ranged from the high fragmentation of agricultural land, to the loss of awareness of different forms of traditional cattle breeding, to the small number of herds and to an abrupt fall in state funding for native breeds after joined the European Union. Also the risks deriving from a high level of inbreeding, frauds in meat offering and non-trained

butchers and restaurants should be considered among the threatening factors.

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9 Participation to other projects and to networks / Funding The “Permanent preservation of Istrian cattle” project is funded by the Istrian Region. Over the years, the project has been funded also by the European Commission through the CARDS-PHARE Programme and the IPA Adriatic Cross-border Cooperation Programme. The project was participating also to a zootechnical networking for sustainable innovation in the Adriatic Euroregion (ZOONE) financed by the IPA Adriatic (2012-2014), as well as to the project “Key-Q – A Key for the Quality in the development and responsible value build-up of agro-food resources from both Adriatic coasts”. Additional notable examples of participation to other projects are: 1. Project Pro.V.I.C. Promotion and valorization of Istrian cattle (New neighbourhood Programme Interre/Cards-Phare 09.2008-12.2009). 2. Project APRO (Cross-border initiative for the protection and revitalization of environment biodiversity using autochthonous breeds) IPA Slovenia – Croatia 2007-2013, 04.2011-2013; Contacts of the responsible of the project:

Gordan Šubara, DVM AZRRI – Agency for Rural Development of Istria Ltd Prof. Tugomila Ujčića 1, 52 000 Pazin, Croatia [email protected]

Edmondo Šuran, DVM AZRRI – Agency for Rural Development of Istria Ltd Prof. Tugomila Ujčića 1, 52 000 Pazin, Croatia 00385 52 351 570 [email protected]

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