Reducing Algerian imports of milk powder, which reached $ 1.2 billion in 2019, is imperative for agricultural services.
The National Interprofessional Office for Milk and Dairy Products (ONIL) announced in July the relaunch of Support Groups for Breeders (Gapel) with the establishment of 11 new groups.
An announcement that comes after the Minister of Agriculture denounced at the end of 2020 that the agricultural offices have become “purchasing centers” while their mission is to support production. A message that seems to have been understood.
In 2014, more than 30% of milk with Gapels
The Gapels are made up of advisers whose mission is to provide individual support and field activities to breeders. There are already 3 groups located in the test areas: Blida, Souk Ahras, and Relizane. The objective for each, to address 700 – 800 breeders. Their installation dates from 2012 and after two years of existence, milk production has increased by 30% per breeder.
Several elements can explain this progression. Veterinarian Seffir Zoheir, present at the Algiers International Agricultural and Agri-Food Production Fair held in May 2014, confided to the daily El Watan: “The technical information is summary. What is lacking with us is precisely the technical support”.
Giving the example of farms created within the framework of the ex-Ansej (National Agency for Youth Employment Support), he continues: “We have financially helped young people through this system to get started in the breeding without providing them with technical support at the same time.”
A good connoisseur of the issue, Bernard Griffoul at the time gave his analysis in the review “Réussir Lait”: “The Algerian state has undeniably put colossal resources on the table to stimulate milk production. But the weak point of this proactive policy, and undoubtedly the cause of its modest results, lies in the lack of technical support for breeders. Only field veterinarians partly fulfill this advisory role. The Algerian state is seeking to forge partnerships to overcome the lack of technical skills.”
Already in 2014, the breeder Mahmoud Benchakor, president of the Interprofessional Milk Committee, warned about the issue of fodder: “Our herd is undernourished. The average national production is 4,500 liters per cow/year, whereas we could reach 6,000 liters. “He then confided to Samira Imadalou from El Watan:” To improve milk yields and reduce imports of powdered milk, we must play on food.”
Gapel, the meeting of two men
It was in 2005 that Marc Gillaux, Managing Director of Bretagne International (BI), met Idir Baïs, a senior executive at the Ministry of Agriculture. BI is an association of more than 1,000 Breton companies that aims to develop internationally. It is the links forged between the two men that will make it possible to bring to fruition what will become the Alban program, one of whose components resides in the Gapels. The project mobilizes 2.2 million euros, two-thirds of which are the responsibility of Algeria.
The photo has been yellowed somewhat. In February 2012, a dozen Algerian agricultural engineers, veterinarians, and agricultural technicians pose near an official building alongside their Breton counterparts. They proudly display their certificate. After a month of internship, they must return to their post in Algeria. During their stay in farms, companies, and various services of the Chamber of Agriculture, they were able to discover the organization of the local sector.
As soon as they returned to Algeria, three Gaspels were installed. Quickly, around a hundred breeders took part in various training courses. Objective: to reach 1,000 trained breeders.
For the Breton partner, the emergence of a structured dairy sector in Algeria implies new needs: genetics, farm buildings, food and hygiene “and therefore new markets for Breton companies, and in particular members of the Alban program. “
Through a qualified panel of Algerian companies, BI offers member companies access to markets that they could not tackle alone. A concept of “pack hunting” which has made the strength of German exports.
Personalized follow-up of breeders
Actions in the field are organized, such as this day devoted to the cultivation of alfalfa. A forage very rich in nitrogen and which can reduce the use of imported concentrates.
At the beginning of spring 2013, the Gapel of Souk Ahras meets with Tifech breeders at the Yousfi-Tayeb pilot farm. About twenty breeders answered the call. Screening of a video on alfalfa, then visit of a six hectare plot. For the occasion, two Breton experts, Benoît Portier and Romain Carpentier are present. They told the Quotidien Info Soir that: “The production of this plot is similar to that obtained in France.”
Then direction to two dairy farms. After diagnosis, a feeding program to optimize milk production is offered to owners.
Animal health is also discussed, especially milking hygiene. The daily Le Maghreb reports the advice given by the two experts: “The annual use of six liters per cow of cleaning product, for udders and teats, can save 15,000 dinars that we would pay for the treatment of mastitis (infection of the mammary gland) and to avoid the risk of depreciation of the quality of the milk. In all, it is more than 300 days of training that the various experts will carry out in Algeria.
“The breeders were not used to exchanging”
Floriane Le Norcy, responsible for the project, testifies: “The breeders were not used to discussing professionally. They are very demanding. We also support them in leadership training and project management.”
During a first review held at the 12th Algiers International Livestock and Food Fair, Marc Gillaux recalls the importance of hygiene in breeding, food, and herd management.
But, he adds: “If there was only one thing to remember from these three elements, it would be food.” The condition of the stables is also discussed. Many of them are judged as “far from meeting the conditions for yields worthy of competitive farms.”
For Abdelhamid Soukhal, from the dairies of the public group Giplait, “this is a battle for modernization, to be efficient in terms of production, with supervision by highly qualified people. We have a lot to learn, which is why, in particular, there is this agreement with BI.”
Today BI claims more than 40% average increase in milk, 15% increase in livestock allowed by progress in livestock management, and a return of 5 € of milk powder saved for each euro invested.
Asked about the duration of the Alban project, Marc Gillaux will specify that the contract is only spread over three years, occasionally recalling the words of the Minister of Agriculture: “It takes 10 to 15 years to develop such a project”. The program was to be extended to 7 other dairy regions and then to 22. It will be necessary to wait until 2021 to arrive at the creation of new groups.
Capitalizing on the experience of the first Gapels
Over 30% to 40% production per breeder! This may explain the decision to include the creation of new Gapels in the 2020-2024 action plan of the Ministry of Agriculture. Already a 4th group has just been installed in Ghardaïa.
It seems that the Ministry of Agriculture has decided to capitalize on the experience of the first Gapels to duplicate their achievements in other wilayas. And that, without calling on Breton partners. The low technical level of some breeders is surprising given the hundreds of technicians, engineers, and veterinarians who graduate from universities each year.
Beyond simple actions: hygiene of stables, cultivation of alfalfa, or constitution of balanced rations, the local agricultural services have discovered the effectiveness of the organization of their Breton counterparts.
But, an efficiency is based on a well-established parity between public authorities and professional associations which manage budgets and recruit their own technicians.
Associations with executives from agricultural unionism, the Catholic Agricultural Youth, the Institute for the training of peasant executives (Ifocap), or the cooperative movement deeply rooted in the Breton countryside.
Human tissue is broken in the exchange. However, by declaring that “the breeders were not used to exchanging”, BI raises the crucial question of the management of the agricultural sector in Algeria. Beyond the traditional sprinkling of subsidies, will the Ministry of Agriculture dare to innovate and go against the current conformism of agricultural services?
