Algerian Steppe Agro-pastoral Breeding in Turmoil: Investigations and Development Prospects

In the Algerian steppe, the population, cultivated area, and number of sheep and goats have tripled in the space of fifty years; imports of feed grains have increased dramatically; the double transhumance, in the Sahara in summer and the Tell in winter, has decreased greatly; and the overcrowded and overgrazed paths have been degraded. Restoring the paths, developing irrigation and local fodder resources, and regulating prices and supply of cereals is, now more than ever, both possible and necessary in order to relaunch sustainable breeding in the steppe.