沙漠研究 24-1, 41-46 (2014)
Ἃ₍◊✲ 24-1, 41 - 46 (2014)
Journal of Arid Land Studies
Journal of Arid Land Studies－ DT11 Refereed Paper －㸫DT11 Refereed Paper㸫

Appropriate Technologies for Drought Mitigation in Agropastoral Areas ofNorth Africa
Ali NEFZAOUI*1), Hichem BEN SALEM 2) and Mohamed EL MOURID1)
Abstract: The North Africa region, comprising Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia, has been identified as a hot spot for highvulnerability to climate change. ICARDA has established a strong partnership in dryland research jointly with national agriculturalresearch systems (NARS) with a focus to reduce food insecurity and enhance sustainable livelihoods of farming communities.
Agriculture in the region is marked by acute water scarcity and strong dependence on low, erratic and decreasing rainfall and a
predominance of rainfed crop-livestock systems. High population growth rate coupled with low agricultural productivity led towidening food deficits that are met by increasing food imports. The pastoral and agropastoral systems in North Africa have been
submitted to deep mutation that affects the mobility pattern of the flock, the feeding strategy which relies more on supplement feeds
rather than natural grazing. Production systems are intensifying and it is now possible to find in the steppe a continuum between
intensive fattening units that are developing in peri-urban areas and along the main transportation routes, mixed grazing-fattening
systems, and purely intensive systems based on hand feeding only to provide feed supplements to animals. Agropastoral societies
have developed their own strategies for coping with drought and climate fluctuation. ICARDA worked on two major themes to help
pastoralists to adapt to these deep changes, namely matching small ruminant breeds to environment and developing efficient animal
feeding techniques that lower the cost of production while using local products. Indeed, in North Africa 7 of the 16 sheep breeds ofthe arid regions are at high risk of disappearance, either because animals are totally replaced by exotic species or because they arecrossbred with more productive breeds. On the other hand, many experiments have shown that efficient animal feeding using local
alternative feeds like by-products processed as feed blocks, native or exotic shrubs (Atriplex) and trees (Acacia) allow significant
reduction in feeding costs and reduce import of cereals.
Key Words: Drought, Shrubs, Small ruminants feeding, Soil and water conservation

1. Introduction
The dominant agricultural production systems in North
Africa are based on livestock and crops, and livestock are themain source of income of rural populations. Sheep and goats
make up the major livestock species in North Africa with 30
million and 10 million head, respectively (Iniguez et al.,2005a). Two critical trends prevail in the current production
context: (i) The first trend involves a crisis in the feed supply
reflecting water scarcity, exacerbated by the progressive
decline of rangeland productivity due to overgrazing,
cultivation encroachment, or the disruption of institutionalarrangements for resource utilization. Moreover, very low
ratio of cultivated forages prevails in the cropping systems.
(ii) The second trend involves the expansion of market demand
for livestock products leading to opportunities for productivity
and income improvement.
Several factors including climate change threaten thesustainability of the production systems. Management of the㸦Received, September 14th, 2013; Accepted, January 10th, 2014㸧

* Corresponding Author: a. nefzaoui@cgiar.org
3 Rue Mahmoud Ghaznaoui, El Menzah IV, 1082 Tunis, Tunisia
1) ICARDA North Africa Program, Tunis, Tunisia

production risk caused by the fluctuation of feed availability is
the main problem hampering the development of livestock
production in North Africa. Under the framework of researchfor development project, the Mashreq/Maghreb project, NARS
and ICARDA developed over a decade sound technical,
institutional and policy options targeting better crop/livestock
integration, community development and improvement of thelivelihoods of agropastoral communities in 8 countries (Algeria,
Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Syria and Tunisia).
These options include (i) organization of local institutions tofacilitate both collective and individual adaptation andresponse to climate change, (ii) an innovative approach to theirsustainable improvement and management including
institutional solutions for access to communal/collective
rangelands, (iii) better use of local natural resources with anemphasis on water harvesting and appropriate use of adapted
indigenous plant species, such as cactus and fodder shrubs, and(iv) efficient animal feeding involving cost-effective alternative
feeds including feed blocks, and nutrition and healthmonitoring.

2) INRAT, Tunis, Tunisia

42

2. The Pastoral and Agropastoral Systems in North
Africa are in Transition
The pastoral and agropastoral societies in North Africa
went through deep mutation during the past few decades. In
the mid-20th century, the mobility pattern of the pastoralists
was dictated by accessibility and availability of forage andwater. With the mechanization of water transportation andthe reliance on supplemental feed, animals can be kept
continuously on the range, which disturbs the natural balance
and intensifies range degradation (Nefzaoui, 2002, 2004).
Mechanization profoundly modified rangeland management in
the steppes of North Africa. Water, supplements and otherservices are brought by trucks to flocks. As a result, families
settle close to cities for easier access to education, health, andother services, with only sheepherders moving flocks to target
grazing areas (transhumance). Production systems areintensifying and it is now possible to find in the steppe acontinuum between intensive fattening units that aredeveloping in peri-urban areas and along the maintransportation routes, mixed grazing-fattening systems, andpurely intensive systems based on hand feeding only toprovide feed supplements to animals.
Agropastoral societies have developed their own strategies
for coping with drought and climate fluctuation. These
strategies include (Hazell, 2007; Alary et al., 2007): mobile ortranshumant grazing practices that reduce the risk of having
insufficient forage in any location; feed storage during
favorable years or seasons; reciprocal grazing arrangementswith more distant communities for access to their resources indrought years; adjustment of flock sizes and stocking rates as
the rainy season unfolds, to best match available grazing
resources; keeping extra animals that can be easily sacrificed indrought conditions, either for food or cash; investment in water
availability (wells, cisterns and water harvesting);
diversification of crops and livestock (agropastoralism),
especially in proximity to settlements, and storage of surplus
grain, straw and forage as a reserve in good rainfall years;
diversification among animal species (sheep, goats, cattle,
camels, donkeys) and different breeds within species; income
diversification into non-agricultural occupations, particularly
seasonal migration for off-farm employment in urban areas.
However, recent infrastructural and demographic changes
as a result of urbanization have made such strategies lesseffective. In a recent study conducted within the Mashreq/
Maghreb project in Chenini agropastoral community, inSouthern Tunisia, perception of drought and livelihood
strategies to mitigate drought has been investigated using a“sustainable livelihood approach” (Nori et al., 2009). Results
show in the thirties drought mitigation depended on strategies

such as transhumance, food and feed storage and goathusbandry that could be implemented by individuals. These
options gradually shifted towards a significant reliance on
government intervention mainly through subsidizing feeds andfacilitating feed transport from the North to Southern arid
areas.
However, science and technology, including climatic
adaptation and dissemination of new knowledge in rangeland
ecology and a holistic understanding of pastoral resource
management, are still lacking. Successful adaptation depends
on the quality of both scientific and local knowledge, local
social capital and willingness to act. Communities shouldhave key roles in determining what adaptation strategies they
support if these are to succeed.

3. Matching Small Ruminant Breeds to Environments
It is widely recognized that pastoralists and theircommunities play an important role in conserving domestic
animal diversity. In North Africa seven of the sixteen sheep
breeds of the arid regions are at high risk of disappearance(Table 1), either because animals are totally replaced by exotic
species or because they are crossbred with more productive
breeds.
Most of these local breeds (Table 1) are well adapted toharsh environments and their genetic makeup is attracting
interest by many western countries that are preparing for thepredicted effects of climate change. ICARDA has been
documenting the status of the diversity and phenotypiccharacteristics of sheep and goat breeds in the West Asia andNorth Africa (WANA) region jointly with NARs partners.
Many breeds are shared across the region and have important
adaptive traits to dryland conditions (Iñiguez, 2005).

4. Efficient Animal Feeding Using Cost-Effective
Alternative Feeds
Managing the production risk caused by the variability of
feed availability is the central issue in the small ruminant (SR)production system in the WANA region. Desertification,
increased drought frequency and duration, greenhouseemissions, and decreased livestock performance, justify theneed for a bettter understanding of alternative feeding strategies
for the improvement of animal production without detrimental
effects on the environment. Moreover, the development ofsimple and cost-effective techniques such as feed blocks,
pellets, and silage (Ben Salem and Nefzaoui, 2003) can add
value to local feed resources (e.g. agroindustrial byproducts),
while providing much needed seasonal livestock supplements
for smallholders.

43

Table 1. Sheep breeds of non-sedentary (pastoral and semi-pastoral) production systems in North Africa (Dutilly-Diane, 2007).
BreedsBreedsAtlas
Atlas M
Mountainountain breed
breed
Barbarine
Barbarine
Barki
Barki
Beni
Beni Guil
Guil
BerberBerberBoujaadBoujaadD’man
D’man
FarafraFarafra
Hamra
Hamra
Ouled
Ouled Djellal
DjellalQueue
Queue Fine
Fine dede l’Ouest
l’Ouest
Rembi
Rembi
Sardi
Sardi
TaadmitTT
aaaaddmmiitt
Tergui-Sidaou
Tergui-Sidaou
Timahdite
Timahdite

Average
Average rainfall
rainfall (mm)(mm)
500
500 (mountain)(mountain)
75-50075-500150-300
150-300
100-250
100-250
450-500
450-500 (mountain)(mountain)
300
300
100
100 (oasis)(oasis)100
100 (oasis)(oasis)200-250200-250
200-500
200-500
200-400
200-400
300
300
300
300
50
50
500
500 (mountain)(mountain)

Country*Country*
M
M
M
MATL
ATL
EL
EL
M
M
A
A
M
M
M
MAT
AT
EE
A
A
AT
AT
TT
A
A
M
M
A
A
A
A
M
M

Risk
Risk toto genetic
genetic erosion
erosionHigh
High
High/low
High/low
None
None
High
High
High
High
None
None
High
High
None
None
High
High
None
None
None
None
M
Moderateoderate
None
None
ExtremeEE
xxttrreem
mee
Low
Low
None
None

Primary
Primary purpose
purposeM
Meat
eat ++ wool
wool ++ skin
skin
M
Meat,
eat, milk
milk
M
Meat,
eat, wool
wool
M
Meat,
eat, wool
wool
M
Meat,
eat, milk
milk
M
Meat,
eat, wool
wool
M
Meat,
eat, manure
manureM
Meat,
eat, wool
wool
M
Meat,
eat, fleece,
fleece, milk
milk
M
Meat,
eat, fleece,
fleece, milk
milk
M
Meat
eat
M
Meat,
eat, fleece,
fleece, milk
milk
M
Meat
eat
M
Meat
eat
M
Meat,
eat, wool
wool(*) A: Algeria, E: Egypt, L: Libya, M: Morocco, T: Tunisia.
Table 2. Productive, environmental and social benefits from some alternative feeding options (Nefzaoui et al., 2011).
Options
Options

ImpactImpactImpact on
on thethe animal
animalImpact on
on thethe environment
environment-- Improved
Improved digestion
digestion ofof low
low quality
quality -- Decreased
Decreased pollution
pollution with
with
diets
diets andand increased
increased growth
growth andand milk
milk perishable
perishable AGIBs
AGIBs (olive(olive cake,
cake,
production
tomatoproduction
tomato pulp,
pulp, etc.)
etc.)-- Improved
Improved healthhealth conditions
conditions due
due toto -- Decreased
Decreased pressurepressure on
on rangelands
rangelands
decreased-- Betterdecreased parasitic
parasitic loadload (use(use ofofBetter quality
quality manure
manuremedicated
medicated FBs)
FBs)

ImpactImpact on
on farmers
farmers livelihoods
livelihoods-- Decreased
Decreased feeding
feeding cost,
cost, increased
increasedanimalanimal performance
performance andand hence
hence higher
higherincomeincome-- Diversification
Diversification ofof farmers’
farmers’ income
income(sale(sale ofof FBs)FBs)-- Employment
Employment generation
generation throughthroughmechanizedmechanized unit
unit forfor FBsFBs making
making-- Improved
Improved digestion
digestion ofof low
low quality
quality -- Improved
Improved soil
soil condition
condition
forages-- Decreased
forages
Decreased pressurepressure on
on primaryprimary-- Improved
resources
Improved animal
animal performance
performance
resources (water(water andand rangelands)
rangelands)

Added
Added value
value cash
cash crop
crop (fruit(fruit andandcladodescladodes sale),sale), andand increased
increased animal
animalperformance
performance result
result in
in increased
increased
incomeincomeShrub mixing
mixingShrub-- Complementarities
Complementarities between
between shrub
shrub -- Combat
Combat desertification
desertification
species-- Soil
species (nutrients(nutrients andand secondary
secondary
Soil protection
protection
compounds)
compounds) increased
increased animal
animalperformances
performances

Reduced
Reduced budget
budget allocatedallocated forforfeedstuffs
feedstuffs purchasingpurchasing

Rangeland
Rangeland resting
resting-- Increased
Increased feed
feed intake
intake andand digestion
digestion -- reduces
reduces degradation
degradation risk
risk-- Increased-- Protection
Increased productive
productive andandProtection ofof plant
plant andand animal
animalreproductive
biodiversity
reproductive performances
performances
biodiversity (domestic(domestic andand wildlife
wildlife
animals)
animals)

increased-- reduced
reduced feeding
feeding cost
cost andand increased
performances
performances resulting
resulting in
in increased
increased
incomeincomeFeed
Feed blocks
blocks (FB)
(FB)

CactusCactus(Opuntia(Opuntia spp.)
spp.)

The main benefits from these options for the animal, theenvironment and their impact on farmers’ livelihoods arereported in Table 2. Overall the interesting results on thepositive effect on animals of tannins (e.g. in situ protection of
dietary proteins, defaunation, reduced emission of methane,anthelmintic activity) and/or saponin (e.g. increased absorption
rate of nutrients, defaunation, decreased production of
methane) containing forages to improve feed efficiency and tocontrol gastrointestinal parasites, and thus improve theproductive and reproductive performance of ruminants should
promote plants rich in secondary compounds in grazing
systems. These options offer promising solutions to reduce

the use of chemicals in livestock production systems toenhance livestock productivity and to decrease emission of
methane (Nefzaoui et al., 2011).
4.1. Feed Blocks (FBs) technology
Cold-processed feed blocks are made of a mixture of one
or more agro-industrial by-products (e.g. olive cake, tomato
pulp, etc.), a binder (e.g. quicklime, cement and clay), waterand common salt, as well as urea with or without molasses.
The technique of FB making is well described in the literature(e.g. Ben Salem and Nefzaoui, 2003; Ben Salem et al., 2005a).
Some variations in the blocks include the incorporation of

44

Table 3. Compiled data on the potential use of feed blocks as alternative feed supplements for sheep and goats in the Mediterranean area (BenSalem et al., 2005a).
Basal diet

Supplement*

Animals

StubbleSt ubble ggrazing
raz ing
Stubble grazing
Wheat straw ad lib
Wheat straw ad lib
AcaciaA
cacia lleaves
eaves
AcaciaA
cacia lleaves
eaves
RangelandRangeland ggrazing
raz ing
RangelandRangeland ggrazing
raz ing

ConcentrateC
oncent rat e ((250250 gg/d)/d)Conc. (150 g/d) + FB1
Conc.
C
onc. ((500500 g/d)g/d)Conc. (125 g/d) + FB2
FB4
F
B4
FB5
with
F
B5 eenrichednriched w
it h PEG
P EG
Conc.
Conc. (300(300 g/d)
g/d)
FB4
F
B4

Lambs
L
ambs
Lambs
Lambs
Lambs
Lambs
Lambs
L
ambs
Lambs
Lambs
Kids
Kids
Kids
K
ids

Growth rate
(g/day)
995
5
136
63
63
66
114
4
61
61
25
25
440
0

Feeding costvariation
-81%
-11%

Country
AlgeriaA
lgeriaAlgeria
TunisiaT
unisiaTunisia
TunisiaT
unisiaTunisiaT
unisiaTunisiaT
unisiaTunisiaT
unisia(*) FB1: wheat bran (10%), olive cake (40%), poultry litter (25%), bentonite (20%), salt (5%); FB2: wheat bran (25%), wheat flour (15%), olive cake(30%), rapeseed meal (10%), urea (4%), quicklime (8%), salt (5%), minerals (1%); FB4: wheat bran (28%), olive cake (38%), wheat flour (11%),
quicklime (12%), salt (5%), minerals (1%), urea (5%); FB5: wheat bran (23%), olive cake (31.2%), wheat flour (9%), quicklime (9.9%), salt (4.1%),
minerals (0.8%), urea (4.1%), PEG (18%).

polyethylene glycol as a tannin-inactivating agent, which has
increased the utilization of tanniniferous browse foliage inruminant feeding (Ben Salem et al., 2007). Mineral enriched
FBs (e.g. phosphorus, copper, etc.) are distributed to animals to
mitigate deficiency and improve reproduction in ruminants.
Benefits from the integration of FBs in the diet of sheep andgoats are reflected by data compiled in Table 3. It is clearthat depending on the formula, FBs can partially or totallyreplace concentrate feeds, thus reducing feeding costs without
detrimental effects on livestock performance.
4.2. Fodder Shrubs and Trees (FST) in the smallholders
farming systems
Trees and shrubs are part of the Mediterranean ecosystem.
They are present in most natural grazing lands of the North
Africa region. Some species are high in essential nutrientsand low in anti-nutritional factors (e.g. Morus alba), whereassome others are low in nutrients but high in secondary
compounds (e.g. Pistacia lentiscus) while some shrubs arehigh in both nutrients and secondary compounds (e.g. Acacia
cyanophylla, Atriplex spp.). Such characteristics enable theplants to withstand grazing and to provide ground for selective
grazing. In arid and semi-arid North Africa regions whereavailable forage species cannot grow without irrigation, FST
could be used as feed supplements. Saltbushes (Atriplex
nummularia, Atriplex halimus and Salsola vermiculata) areplanted in dry zones in North Africa and have many
advantages because of their wide adaptability to harshagro-climatic conditions and ability to grow for a longer period.
As trees require little care after establishment, the production
cost is low (Nefzaoui et al., 2011).
4.3. Alley-croppingThis technique consists of cultivating herbaceous crops ofboth graminae and legumes species between rows of trees or

shrub species. Among the reasons for the low adoption ofpure shrubs planting are the technical design of plantation,
mismanagement, and competition for land often dedicated tocereal crops. Alley cropping overcomes some of thesedisadvantages because it (1) improves soil; (2) increases crop
yield; (3) reduces weeds and (4) improves animal performance.
Properly managed alley-cropping allows diversification tobenefit from several markets. It also promotes sustainability
in both crop and livestock production. Benefits from thecactus-barley alley cropping system were evaluated in Tunisia(Alary et al., 2007; Shideed et al., 2007). Compared to barleyalone, the total biomass (straw plus grain) of barley cultivatedbetween the rows of spineless cactus increased from 4.24 to
6.65 tones/ha and the grain from 0.82 to 2.32 tones/ha. These
results are due to the change of the micro-environment createdby alley-cropping with cactus, which creates a beneficial ‘wind
breaking’ role that reduces water loss and increases soil
moisture. The barley crop stimulated an increase in thenumber of cactus cladodes and fruits, while the cactus
increased the amount of root material contributing to the soilorganic matter. The alley-cropping system with Atriplex
nummularia proved efficient in the semi-arid regions ofMorocco (annual rainfall 200-350 mm). Barley was cropped(seeding rate 160 kg/ha) between Atriplex (333 plants/ha) rows.
Compared to farmers’ mono-cropping system, dry matterconsumable biomass yield of Atriplex was significantly higher
in the alley-cropping system. The latter system was more
profitable than mono-cropping. Indeed, Laamari et al. (2005)
determined the net benefit from Atriplex monocropping andBarley-Atriplex alley cropping over 15 years. The cumulative
net benefit was 732.18 $/ha and 3,342.53 $/ha, respectively.
The economic and agronomic assessment of alley croppingshows that this technology is economically profitable.
Therefore, it should be extended on a large scale in theagro-pastoral areas of the North Africa region.

45

Table 4. Effect of shrub mixed diets on sheep and goat growth (adapted from Nefzaoui et al., 2011).
Basal diet 1
Acacia (417 g/d)
Cactus (437 g/d)
Cactus (499 g/d)
Atriplex grazing
Native shrubland grazing

Supplement 2
Atriplex (345 g/d); Barley (280 g/d)
Atriplex (310 g/d); Acacia (265 g/d)
Straw (207 g/d); Atriplex (356 g/d)
Cactus (290 g/d)
Cactus (100 g/d); Atriplex (100 g/d)

Animal
Lambs
Lambs
Lambs
Lambs
Kids

Daily gain (g)
54
28
81
20
60

Acacia: Acacia cyanophylla; Cactus: Opuntia ficus indica f. inermis (cladodes); Atriplex: Atriplex nummularia. (2) Values between parentheses are daily
dry matter intake.

4.4. Shrub mixing technique
Most Mediterranean fodder shrubs and trees are either low
in essential nutrients (energy and/or digestible nitrogen) or highin some secondary compounds (e.g. saponins, tannins,
oxalates). These characteristics explain the low nutritive
value of these fodder resources and the low performance ofanimals. For example, Acacia cyanophylla foliage is high incondensed tannins but low in digestible nitrogen. Atriplex
spp. are low in energy and true protein although they containhigh levels of crude protein, fibre and oxalates. Cactus
cladodes are considered an energy source and high in water but
they are low in nitrogen and fibre. Moreover, they are
remarkably high in oxalates. A wealth of information on thecomplementary nutritional role of these three shrub species andthe benefit of shrub mixing diets for ruminants, mainly sheep
and goats, are reported in the literature (Ben Salem et al., 2002,
2004, 2005b). This technique permits balancing the diet for
nutrients and reducing the adverse effects of secondary
compounds and excess of minerals including salt. The
association Cactus-Atriplex is a typical example of shrub
mixing benefits. The high salinity and the low energy content
of atriplex foliage are overcome by cactus. Some examplesof the effects of shrub mixed diets on sheep and goats
performance are reported in Table 4.
In summary,diversification of shrub plantations should be encouraged to
improve livestock production in the dry areas of North Africa.

5. Conclusions
Small ruminant production is the main source of income inarid areas of North Africa. Water scarcity and frequent
droughts exacerbated by climate change together with
mutation of pastoral and agropastoral production systems are
putting this asset at risk. Agropastoral and pastoral societies
have developed their own strategies for coping with drought
and climate fluctuation; however recent changes have madethese strategies less effective.
ICARDA developed
alternative technologies and approaches to help reduce theeffects of droughts, including: conservation and improvementof well adapted local breeds of small ruminants; developmentof feeding techniques and strategies based on the better use of
local by-products and shrubs and trees and alley cropping
system. These options reduce the feeding cost and imports offeeds.

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