Population size and reproductive performance of the five French local pig breeds

The trends in the numbers of reproducers and pig farms and their geographical distribution are described for each of the five French local breeds. The Gascon and Basque breeds have the most favourable development, the situation is intermediate for the Bayeux and Limousin breeds, while the Blanc de l’Ouest breeds goes through a difficult period. For all the breeds, improvements must focus on farm managementand choice of future reproducers in order to improve reproductive performance: percentage of productive sows, number of litters per sow per year, litter size, number of pigs weaned, etc.