The Animal Genetics Division project is developed in the outline of its Strategic Research Agenda. This document summarises its direction and goals of research and serves as a contract between the direction of INRA and the Division.

Three main stakes have been identified for the future :

• Scientific –  the first mainly concerns the very rapid development of knowledge of genomes. We must master genomics tools but also their integration with phenotypic data in order to decrypt the determinism of genetic variability of traits.

• Economic – the second concerns the durability and competitiveness of production in a new context on regional and environmental management and animal welfare. Within such a competitive context, INRA must be at the cutting edge of scientific progress in its fields of interest, in particular in the molecular characterisation of genetic variability and its use in population management.
 • Social – the third must be more decisive. We must improve our means of communication in order to compensate for an increasing distance between society and the animal production world. 

The Division’s research activities are organised into three key focus areas that unify a scientific community working together towards a same goal :  

The Division is in charge of the national animal breeding database and of the genetic evaluation of animals in France within the framework of specific missions assigned by the Ministry of Agriculture.