Assessment of the socio-economic impact of camel breeding in Mauritania.

The dromedary is a species closely linked to the culture of Mauritanian society, essential for food security, livelihood, and socio-economic development. The present study was undertaken to assess the socio-economic aspect of camel breeding in Mauritania, a typical Sahelian country. The specific objectives are to characterize the socio-demographic and zootechnical parameters of camel breeding and to evaluate its economic impact. For this purpose, an individual semi-direct questionnaire was administered to a sample of 359 breeders throughout Mauritania, who collectively keep 26,527 dromedaries. Over 72% of breeders were over 45 years old, and 70% had never received formal education. 80% of breeders had been breeding camels for over 25 years. The zootechnical performances were 2.82 L per day, 12.04 months, 11.73 months, and 23.13 months respectively for milk production, age at weaning, lactation duration, and calving-to-calving interval. Average selling prices were 13,544.24 MRU (equivalent to 342.89 $USD), 42,023.88 MRU (1,063.89 $USD), and 44,174.22 MRU (1,118.33 $USD) for young, adult females and adult males respectively. The selling age of young animals varies from 6 to 48 months, with an average of 16.17 ± 7.08 months. Pertinent indicators of economic importance were calculated, such as animal sales volume per breeder per year, job creation, annual total income per breeder, and annual total income per adult female, clearly showing the encouraging impact of camel breeding. A multifactor analysis based on productivity variables allowed us to identify 4 types of breeders, including two with a focus on dairy production and two whose primary focus is the production of live animals “Meat production”. The four types identified were “Dairy production in accessible pastoral areas”, “Dairy production around peri-urban areas”, “Meat production in remote pastoral areas” and “Meat production around peri-urban areas”. The first group consists of 164 (43.21%) farms with an average herd size of 69.90 ± 55.86 heads, generating the annual total income of 941,572.96 MRU/breeder (equivalent 23,837.22 $USD), and the annual total income per adult female of 14,790.11 MRU (375 $USD). The second group includes 73 (20.33%) farms. They have an average herd size of 74.53 ± 54.69 heads, and generate the annual total income of 976,336.15 MRU/breeder (24,717.37 $USD), and the annual total income per adult female of 15,818.68 MRU (625.50 $USD). The third group consists of 78 (21.72%) farms with an average herd size of 88.39 ± 103.8 heads. They generate the annual total income of 1,116,282.45 MRU/breeder (28,260.31 $USD), and the annual total income per adult female of 23,757.47 MRU (601.45 $USD). The tetrad group consists of 44 (12.25%) farms with an average herd size of 67.26 ± 58.93 heads, generating the annual total income of 825,592.58 MRU/breeder (20,5901.07 $USD), and the highest annual total income per adult female of 40,176.11 MRU (1,017.11 $USD). These results demonstrate the positive impact of camel breeding and can be used as a basis for any future development scenario for Mauritanian dromedaries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]