The Maghreb countries (Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia) have experienced since the early 1950s a rapid demographic growth coupled to a significant rhythm of urbanization. This has led to a marked increase in the demand of dairy products. In order to secure the supply, specific policies have been implemented. They mainly consisted in the establishment of a dairy industry, based on the processing of either raw milk produced locally (in Morocco and Tunisia) or imported milk powder (in Algeria). These divergent options have had significant consequences on the whole organization of the dairy chains in these countries, from cattle rearing practices, to milk collection and processing. They have also implied differences in milk and its derivatives’ prices and levels of consumption. The paper draws a comparative analysis of milk chains within the three countries: a supply mainly based on imports in Algeria, whereas in Morocco and Tunisia, the demand is satisfied by a chain relying on locally produced cattle milk. The paper also emphasizes on the future challenges that will have to be addressed: a rising volatility of milk and other strategic inputs’ prices (feed, machinery, cattle, etc.) in global markets, an improvement in consumers’ awareness about milk quality, a further pressure on natural resources (mainly soils and water) to get more raw milk, in countries already suffering an acute water stress. The article also establishes recommendations about specific issues related to the development of the dairy chains in the context of North Africa. These are mainly linked to the fragmented offer induced by numerous smallholder farms, which implies obvious difficulties to assess the hygienic and the chemical quality of milk batches delivered daily. Moreover, this fragmented offer also means that specific support programs will have to be designed, as the vast majority of farms are not dairy specialized, expecting both milk and calf crop from their herds.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/2193-1801-2-162) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Exposition of variations between breeds is very important for genetic diversity. Determination of this variation is needed to reveal population structure and relationship between populations and planning national breeding and conservation programmes. This study was carried out in 296 animals from 12 different local sheep breeds (Barbarine, Ouled Djellal, Ifilene, Srandi, Darâa, Rembi, Berbere, Taâdmit, Hamra, Sidaou, Tazegzawt and D'men) reared in different regions of Algeria. Fifteen microsatellite markers were used to determine between breed genetic diversity. The population of 12 sheep breeds studied from Algeria exhibited a high number of alleles (24.67) and polymorphic information content (0.90). Observed heterozygosity values were lower than expected for all molecular markers except INRA0123 locus. Obtained G ST value from the present study indicated that 1.9% of total genetic variation resulted from the differences between the breeds. The present study supplied important information to understand between breed genetic differences. Moreover, it has provided the opportunity to discuss with previously reported results. In light of these findings, it can be said that studied microsatellite markers can be successfully used to determine genetic diversity and population structure in Algerian sheep breeds. ARTICLE HISTORY

Une étude sur la filière laitière dans la wilaya de Skikda (Algérie) a permis d’analyser la saisonnalité de la production laitière chez 157 exploitations bovines et les implications relatives à la collecte de lait par l’industrie. Les enquêtes ont porté sur les deux systèmes de production (avec terre et hors-sol) en 2016 et 2017 pour évaluer l’importance des contributions des systèmes d’exploitation dans l’approvisionnement des laiteries. Une première analyse en composantes principales a mis en évidence quatre profils de livraison. Une deuxième analyse effectuée sur les vêlages observés dans les troupeaux des exploitations montre une certaine concordance entre la saisonnalité des livraisons de lait et la répartition des vêlages des troupeaux. L’étude a aussi abordé les notions de territoires et de distances parcourues pour les livraisons du lait aux laiteries. Certaines exploitations livraient leur lait à deux laiteries implantées à Skikda qui avaient aussi recours à un approvisionnement en poudre de lait à des prix subventionnés. D’autres livraient leur lait à des centres de collecte de lait implantés dans le bassin laitier et appartenant à deux laiteries industrielles localisées à plus de 250 kilomètres en moyenne dans la wilaya de Bejaia. Ces dernières s’approvisionnaient aussi en poudre de lait mais aux prix libres sur le marché. Elles mettaient en oeuvre des dispositifs d’appui aux éleveurs qui permettaient de diversifier leur approvisionnement afin de lisser les quantités collectées et de compenser la saisonnalité individuelle des fermes. Des dispositifs de concertations pourraient permettre à ces industriels d’accompagner les éleveurs dans des stratégies plus explicites de dé-saisonnement de la production.