Typology of dairy farming systems in the Mediterranean basin (Case of Algeria)

S Kaouche-Adjlane,A Mati,F Ghozlane

doi:10.2298/bah1503385k

Abstract

Characterization of breeding dairy cattle systems from the Mediterranean basin was conducted on 16 farms in the north center region of Algeria through a survey. Results are highly variable both structurally and in techno- economic management terms. The principal component analysis and clusters analysis have identified four groups of farms that differ in feeding strategies. The first group contains four farms that promote the use of forages (61.8% of the total dry matter (DM) intake). The costs are above the general averages (cost of production: 38.4 DA / liter ? 0.34 ? and cost of food in total production costs = 71.8%). The average annual productivity is about 4328.6 kg. Five farms of group 2 are characterized by milk yields below average (4146.5 kg). The concentrates represent only 39.3% of total DM intake. The cost of production (37.1 DA ? 0.33 ?/ liter of milk) and food costs are the lowest (65.17% of total production costs). The third group contains 5 farms dominated by profitable farms (4833.4 kg) and the lower cost of production (35.2 DA ? 0.31 ?). A relatively high proportion of DM is provided by forages (53.6%). Food accounts for 69.2% of the total production cost. The fourth group consists of two farms whose main characteristic is the total absence of forage production. This is associated with a significant contribution of concentrates in the global feed balance (48.8% of total DM intake). These concentrated foods were poorly converted into milk as recorded yields are the lowest (3561.2 kg). Production costs are highest (45.1 DA ? 0.40 ?) and relation price of food/total cost of production is very high (79.3%). So there are areas for improvement via land restructuring and the adoption of healthy feeding practices in order to ensure the profitability and sustainability of farms identified in this study.

Highlights

Milk is an important food in the Algerian consumer tradition, this is due to its nutritional value, its substitution with red and white meats relatively expensive and mainly related to the support of consumer prices by the State
The results showed that between 53.2 and 82.7% of the cost of production of one liter of raw milk was due to food
The results showed that nearly 70% of the cost of production of one liter of raw milk is allocated to food

Summary

Introduction

Milk is an important food in the Algerian consumer tradition, this is due to its nutritional value, its substitution with red and white meats relatively expensive and mainly related to the support of consumer prices by the State. The Algerian bibliography is lacking data on the actual operation and the level of profitability of the dairy farms in a context of reduced public institutions of control and monitoring functions of the national herd performance. The purpose of this manuscript is to describe dairy cattle farms in the mid-northern region of Algeria through: (i) the characterization of the producers involved in milk production, (ii) analysis of different practices and strategies in place to manage the units surveyed and (iii) identification of constraints and potentialities of current systems

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion