Role of Camel Husbandry in Food Security of the Republic of Kazakhstan

Abstract

This paper examines the problem of food security in the Republic of Kazakhstan over the past 10 years. Based on statistical data, an assessment was made of the prevalence of malnutrition among the population of the country, including children under 5 years of age. There has been a trend towards for an improvement in the nutrition of the population for a few indicators; however, further optimization of food security indicators is required to achieve the goals of sustainable development (SDGs) of the FAO WHO Agenda for the period up to 2050 in Kazakhstan and in its individual regions. The paper reflects data on demographic changes over the past 10 years and its self-sufficiency in basic foods for 2019. A high degree of self-sufficiency in meat products (117.6%) is revealed in the population of the Republic of Kazakhstan. However, self-sufficiency in dairy products is at an extremely low level (0.1%). Camel breeding has been successfully developing in the country over the past 10 years. However, the number of camels in the country is still at a low level. Camel milk can be considered as a great source of macronutrients, its daily consumption partially facilitates the problem of Food Security in Kazakhstan.

Camel breeding in Kazakhstan and future perspectives

“…The crucial camels’ role in the life of the Central Asia nomads was cited by many authors ( Imamura et al, 2017 ; Nurtazi et al, 2017 ; Haruda, 2018 ; Sala and Kartaeva, 2018 ; Dioli, 2020 ; Yihang et al, 2020 ; Orazov et al, 2021 ). Traditionally, nomads used camels as a working force and as a milk-, meat-, and wool-producing animal in the camel breeding regions by replacing other agricultural animals ( Nurtazin et al, 2017 ).…”

“…The wide variability of the climate of the Republic of Kazakhstan and its wide-open spaces, mainly semi-arid, are suitable for camel breeding ( Sala and Kartaeva, 2018 ; Orazov et al, 2021 ). Kazakhstan has a flat land of about 190 million hectares, which is considered a potential area for camel breeding ( Nadtochii et al, 2018 ).…”

“… Orazov et al (2021) mentioned a tendency of stable growth in the number of camels over the last 5 years. However, the number of camels in the country is still at a low level, and Kazakhstan is at the 20th rank in the list of the camel countries behind Tunisia ( FAOstat, 2022 ).…”

“…Camel breeding has been successfully developing in the country over the past 10 yr. In the period from 2010 to 2016 in Kazakhstan, the production of camel products increased 3.4 times up to 34 million USD ( Baimukhanov, 2020 ; Orazov et al, 2021 ).…”

“…Thus, increasing the production volume of camel milk could partly contribute to satisfying the local demand. Camel milk is an important source of macronutrients, vitamins, and amino acids, and its daily consumption partially facilitates the problem of food security in Kazakhstan and other countries ( Orazov et al, 2021 ). Moreover, the consumption of camel milk being under the fermented form, its probiotic quality contributing to its health effect widely documented, is an important commercial argument ( Manaer et al, 2015 ).…”