In order to manage important transformations affecting a steppe area, it is necessary to analyze the existing pastoral system by evaluating the sustainability of its subsystems of production. For this reason, in this study, a tool for the evaluation of the sustainability of livestock production in the steppe area was used in order to identify the most sustainable systems. The study was conducted using a survey of 87 livestock farmers (production units) in the region ranked first in terms of sheep production. Principal component analysis (PCA) enabled us to identify two production systems: (i) the pastoral production system, characterized by the mobility of livestock and its high dependence on concentrated feed; (ii) the agropastoral system, combining fodder and livestock production, which is sedentary and semi-extensive. Using a grid for evaluating the sustainability of livestock systems in steppe regions, the impact of each system on the environment (environmental, economic, and social) was examined, and the results showed that the feed system was unbalanced, with high pressure on steppe rangelands. Nevertheless, multiple ways of improving these systems emerged from the analysis, such as encouraging the production of fodder and its association with livestock, on new spatial, temporal, regional, and national levels.
The paper aimed at measuring the volatility of sheep price in real pastoral market. It used a long-term empirical data (2003-2017), an Empirical orthogonal Functions analysis (EOF) and statistics. With cumulated variances of 57.89%, EOF divided the results into 3 batches according to linear coefficient of correlation of Pearson (r). It measured low degrees of positive or negative dependence between variables. State intervention was not efficient for stabilizing prices also. The implications of the observed findings are improved instruments based on fundamental market forces for struggling efficiently against price instability.
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