What future for camel pastoralism in the world?

Faye Bernard. 2018. What future for camel pastoralism in the world?. In : Recent advances in camelids biology, health and production : Proceedings of the 5th conference ISOCARD 2018. Sghiri Abdelmalek (ed.), Kichou Faouzi (ed.). Laâyoune : ISOCARD, 32-38. ISBN 978-9920-36-565-9 Conference of the international society of camelid research and development ISOCARD 2018. 5, Laâyoune, Maroc, 12 Novembre 2018/15 Novembre 2018.

Résumé : The classical typology of camel farming systems into 3 types namely traditional nomadic, semi-intensive and modern intensive is not sufficient to describe the present changes and the complexity of the systems. With the development of peri-urban systems, the transitory settlement and the different constraints to the mobility, the camel farms are at more complex interactions with other animal species, other owners' activities and other spaces. To give an example of the present complexity in camel farming systems, we could evoke the current situation in Mauritania, Chad and Gulf countries. The development of dairy periurban systems (in more or less intensive way) is linked to the growing demand in camel milk by urban consumers, and the milk is sold directly to the consumers on the main roads leading into town, in employee-managed depots, private shops, or in dairy industries. Moreover, the periurban settlement could be transitory and/or involve only a part of the herd (the lactating camels only, the other part being in pastoral areas). In this case, important camel flow occurs between pastoral and periurban area contributing to the multiplication of different types of flows (men, feeds, animals and diseases). However, dairy camel farms are also more and more developed in rural areas when dairy factories can organize the camel milk collecting far away from the town. The camel herds are staying around the village terroirs in promiscuity with small ruminants and cattle. At reverse, in settled feed-lot systems for providing young male camels for meat production, the interactions with other species are not common. Regarding the pastoral systems, the most important parameter is the camel herd mobility. But, this aspect is also marked by a certain complexity. Globally, four types of mobility can be observed: (i) Residential mobility (true transhumance with permanent attachment points at rainy and dry season; (ii) Adaptive mobility face to more and more erratic rainfall; (iii) Opportunistic commercial mobility to satisfy local demands (for example, the present demand of Senegalese butchers in camel meat from Mauritania); (iv) Contractual commercial mobility based on export agreement of live animals from Sahelian countries to North Africa or Gulf countries. In addition, those mobilities could involve the owner and his herd (all the family is moving with the herd) or only the herd (with some shepherds).

Auteurs et affiliations

• Faye Bernard, CIRAD-ES-UMR SELMET (FRA)

Source : Cirad-Agritrop (https://agritrop.cirad.fr/591632/)

Métriques

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