With the highest levels of meat and milk production, as well as live animal exports, IGAD developed camelids resource management plans for the period 2023-2032 based on interviews with experts, herders and literature review, the African body revealed.

They identified camel herding, camel breeding and production, health and welfare, value chain and food security, animal promotion and education, as well as research as strategic priority areas for action.

Camels are vital to the region’s food security and resilience, especially during the periodically occurring drought, which is less affected than other livestock, the publication stressed.

The dispersion in breeding areas as an adaptation to the effects of climate change, the strong internal and external demand for meat products, contribute to the significant growth of this animal population.

From 2009 to 2019, camel numbers increased from 11,187,276 to more than 13,706,206, an increase of 22,5%, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization’s 2021 corporate statistical database.

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