Developing Algeria's Dairy industry

Mahmoud Benchekor, president of the Interprofessional Council for Milk (CIL) in Algeria emphasised the need to raise the quality of animal feed and fodder to ensure increased milk production."To produce milk, we must first produce fodder. If we do not ensure good nutrition, balanced and healthy livestock, we can not control other inputs, such as animal health," he said to APS on the sidelines of an international symposium on the dairy industry and processes organized on the sidelines of the 12th International Exhibition for Animal Husbandry and Food (SIPSA-agrofood). He said that there was a deficiency in cattle feed which in Algeria is provided by  corn silage and alfalfa .

Having revived the dairy industry and instituted a number of pilot farms Mr Benchekor said it was time to move on to performance and productivity.  The private sector and foreign investors are being encouraged to invest in the sector in contrast to the period when agriculture was run largely by the state.

For 30 years Algeria has imported the top breeds of cattle but the yield per cow of fresh milk nationally was only half what it was in their country of origin  a cattle breeder  from Oran told APS.

The state should increase grants for irrigation so that more fodder crops can be grown through irrigation and water from dams with the use of economic drip systems.

Algeria's requirements for dairy products is  estimated at 5 billion liters of milk equivalent per year of which 1.6 billion liters of milk in liquid products currently  made from raw milk and powder.

The director general of Bretagne International , Marc Gillaux emphasised thr importance of the right quality and quantity of cattle fodder.

The French association Bretagne International has opened an office in Blida in collaboration with the Institute of Veterinary Livestock (Institut d'élevage vétérinaire, or ITELV). This is part of the Alban project, which aims to help develop the dairy industry in Algeria. It is helping Algeria to establish a modernised  competitive dairy produce industry reducing imports of powdered milk and creating more agricultural jobs. Three pilot wilayas have
already been chosen, and the plan is to extend the project to 22 wilayas in the future.

the Algerian Ministry of Agriculture has established several programmes to expand herd size and productivity by  expanding artificial insemination and embryo transfer use, expanding pasture areas, supporting heifer nurseries and importing pregnant heifers and dairy cattle and establishing better quality control in the dairy sector by 2014
notes the US  agricultural website the Cattlesite.

It notes that the origins of  Algerian dairy imports are still the same. Most of the non fat dry milk powder comes from EU countries, essentially France with 40 per cent of the market share, followed by Belgium with 21 per cent and Poland with 19 per cent. Whole milk  powder originates from New Zealand (32 per cent), followed by Argentina with 16 per cent market share and Great Britain (10 per cent) and France (nine per cent). Most of the cheese comes from Ireland, Netherlands and New Zealand. Butterfat  originates from New Zealand and France.

CRV the Dutch dairy  cooperative sent  management consultant Fokko Tolsma to Algeria in January 2011 to the village Maghnia in the western part of Algeria.  He trained 47 farmers, veterinarians, AI technicians and dairy consultants. The practical lessons were given on 3 farms with on average 30-50 dairy cows.

The training focused on feeding, milking machines and breeding. Most of the cows in Algeria are important from Holland and other European countries and are a mixture of the Black and White, Red and White, Brown Swiss and Montbeliarde breed. Special attention was given to one of the questions of the farmers.

“What type of cow fits a small dairy farm in Northern Africa?” The conclusion was that a smaller or medium sized cow fits the Algerian feeding regime the best.  The Maghnia region produces at this moment over 100,000 kg milk a day of which 45,000 kg is being processed by the local dairy ‘Laiterie Najah’. This organisation gives extensive education to farmers and stimulates the dairy industry.

In April Lady Olga Maitland, President of the Algerian British Business Association on a visit to Algeria noted the important investment opportunities offered by the dairy sector in Algeria .