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Algeria
Livestock
Although sheep and goat herds have been increasing since independence,
especially when contrasted with grain production levels, the viability
of the livestock sector as a whole depends heavily on such factors
as improvement of breeding methods, disease control, and imported
feed--feed grain imports rose sharply in the 1980s. Whereas meat
production increased through the 1970s, growth tapered off during
the 1980s, and the government was concerned about the failure
to meet the production target of 228,000 tons in 1989. At least
60 percent of milk requirements were imported in 1990. Poultry
production scored remarkable successes and reached self-sufficiency
by the mid1980s . Earlier, the agrarian revolution had tried to
restructure the system of grazing on the high plateaus but failed
to change the pattern of livestock ownership: 5 percent of herders
in 1990 owned 50 percent of the total herds. In 1990, according
to United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization estimates,
Algeria had about 1.4 million head of cattle, 3.7 million goats,
and 13.4 million sheep. The majority of livestock spend the winter
on the open range and the spring and summer in the grain-raising
area grazing on what is left after the wheat and barley harvests.
Data as of December 1993
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