Promoting Camel Husbandry in the Horn of Africa

Promoting Camel Husbandry in
the Horn of Africa
ELMT/ELSE Lessons Bazaar
Hilton Hotel 14 th April 2010
Addis Ababa
presented by Dr Ilona Gluecks, VSF Suisse

Why?
The camel is in the arid and semi arid
areas the most important livestock
species for the livelihoods of
pastoralists

The use of the dromedary camel
• Milk
– Household consumption
• In dry season contributing
to 50% of nutrient intake
for pastoralist
• Raw/resh milk
• Fermented (“Susa”)
– Business

The use of the dromedary camel
• Transport and Work
– Transport or pack animal
• Household
• Water
• Goods (Milk)
• Desert ambulance
• Camel library (Garissa)
• People (tourism)
• Vaccination campaigns, solar powered
camel fridges
– Work
• Ploughing

The use of the dromedary camel
• Meat/live animals
– Household
consumption
– Local Business
• Sale males
• Unproductive
females for slaughter
- Export Business
Mainly to Arabian
Peninsula from
Somalia

Why? – cont’d
• Curriculum of vet universities do not include the
camel (recently achieved in Kenya, and in
Somalia Sheikh Veterinary School)
• International: Enormous research going on in
the Arab States (breeding, reproduction,
feeding, disease related to racing camels) BUT
very little or no research on the camel as a
livestock species in pastoral areas
• National: camel as species sidelined, focus on
dairy cows mainly

Why? Cont’d
• Importance in future might raise
due to climatic changes
(increasing number of
droughts…);
The camel is very well adapted to
hot, dry environments due to its
physiology

Camels in the world
• 18.9 M camels in the world
– 95% dromedary camels (Africa, Middle East)
– 5% bactrian camels (Central Asia, China, Mongolia)
• 82% (15.4 M) found on the African Continent
– Somalia 6.2 - 7 M
– Sudan 3.2 - 3.5 M
– Ethiopia 1.4 - 2.3 M
– Mauritania 1.3 M
– Kenya 0.8 to 1 M

Camels in Africa

Idea/Aim
• Improve/strengthen camel health and
husbandry
• Promote camel production, products
• Build capacity
• Promote and advocate for the camel as
important livestock species nationally,
internationally (fora, conferences)
• Promote and engage into research (linking
research and development)

Projects
• Farm Africa’s Pastoralist Development Project 1988 for 12 years
focus on camel health and husbandry (Best practice series)
– Provision of vet services to camel owners
– Using demonstration herds for research, extension and training
– Camel improvement groups
– Improving breeds through local stud bulls
– Promotion of camel up take and off take
• Camel marketing
• Camel for slaughter
– Promotion of production of value added
– products
• Condensed milk
• Meat products
– Promotion of diversification
• Traction, ploughing, transport, leisure
– School camel program

Outcome
– Formation of the Kenya Camel Association
• Members mainly pastoralists and other interested
groups and people (scientists, ranchers, NGOs)
• Annual Kenya Camel Forum conducted in various
districts of the ASAL of Kenya
• Exchange cross border Somali and Ethiopian
Pastoralists

Improve camel health and husbandry
• Training of vet professionals on
camel health aspects
• Development of a “Manual for
Camel Service Providers (CASPRO)”
• Training of CASPROs
• Ensuring availability of camel
specific drugs in the arid areas
• Access to and discussion of the
traditional knowledge of camel keeping
communities (diseases, husbandry practices)
• Supporting pastoralists to attend the Kenya
Camel Forum held annually

Promote camel production, products
• Advocating on acceptance of camel milk by
Kenya Dairy Board
Standards for camel milk developed (KEBS)
• Improving milk hygiene, handling and quality
along the milk market value chain through
training of pastoralist producers, middlemen,
traders and consumers
• Introduction of more hygienic
transport containers
• Development of milk bars
• Advocating for market
infrastructure and systems with
county council/local authorities

Promote camel production, products cont’d
• Training on milk processing (yoghurt,
condensed milk, toffees)
• Training of groups on
meat processing “njirnjiri”

Promote camel production, products cont’d
• Re-stocking of
– Camels as pack animals together with small
ruminants
– Camels as source of milk
– Camels as new species (Samburu, Borana,
Maasai)

Promote and engage into research
• Investigation of Camel Sudden Death
Syndrome (CSD) – Survey and
Diagnostics
– Kenya, Somalia, Ethiopia
• Defining the prevalence of Brucellosis in
camel milk
– Kenya

Promote and engage into research cont’d
Participatory Study on the Epidemiology
of Haemorrhagic Septicaemia in Camels
(Camelus Dromedarius) in Northern
Kenya complemented by Bacteriological
Analysis and Molecular Identification
and Differentiation
Kenya, partly Somalia

Promoting the camel
• Training of veterinarians under the ELMT/ELSE
project on camel health and husbandry practices
–1 st Training workshop in Moyale, Ethiopia
–2 nd Training workshop in Dire Dawa, Ethiopia
• Formation of the Camel Forum Ethiopia in
October 2009
– Under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural
Development, Animal and Plant Health Regulatory
Directorate
– Bi-laws and strategy developed
– Newsletter

Promote and advocate for the camel as important
livestock species nationally, internationally
• Attending international conferences (ISOCARD, Al Ain
2006, Djerba 2009)
• World Buiatric Conference (Budapest 2008)
• Regional Livestock Forum (FAO)
• Donors (USAID, EC, ECHO, the Wellcome Trust)
• Kenya Camel Forum / Camel Forum Ethiopia
• Kenya Dairy Board, Kenya Bureau of Standards
• Line Ministries
• National and international research Institutes (KARI,
ILRI)
• iNGOs
• Kenya Pastoralist Week
• HoA Pastoralist Network
• OiE

Upcoming possibilities
“The International Camel Symposium –
Linking Camel Science and Development
for Sustainable Livelihoods”
7 th to 10 th June 2010, Garissa, Kenya
http://www.kari.org/thekenyacamelsymposium2010.htm
kenyacamelsymposium@gmail.com

THANKS