Project Results

Two different production systems were identified in the East Shewa and the Borana zone. While a traditional, mobile production system for camel herds prevails in the Borana zone, in the East Shewa zone the lactating camels are kept together with their calves in the periphery of larger towns in order to supply the urban population with camel milk.

Preliminary results show that within these production systems, management factors (feeding, husbandry, breeding, animal health) and socio-economic factors of pastoral households are relatively uniform. However, it was possible to identify factors that vary. Further investigations in the project will show to what extent these differences in managerial factors and households / camel herders influence the milk and reproductive performance of camel cows (task 2.2), the health status of the camel cows and their calves (task 3.2), as well as producers' income generated from camel milk sales (task 4.2).

A more in-depth analysis of the survey data will follow until end of June 2025. The final results will be used to identify the most promising intervention measures to improve camel performance through (1) improved health practices and (2) improved feeding management, and the related knowledge of camel herders to be included in trainings tailored to camel herders and their families in the third project year (WP5).