Intensification of camel farming and milk production with special emphasis on animal health, welfare, and the biotechnology of reproduction

Abstract

Dromedaries can be integrated efficiently into an intensive production environment. Intensive camel milk production requires a significant initial investment, however, it also offers a number of advantages. A Herd Health Management program and compliance with statutory requirements guaranty the production of good quality and safe raw camel milk from “happy and healthy” animals. No undesired effects associated with intensification such as the emergence of zoonotic diseases and antibiotic resistance were detected. Assisted reproductive technologies are important to enhance the efficiency of a selective breeding program. The growing population of the world is projected to reach 9.7 billion by the year 2050. Food and water security are among the priorities of the 21st century that cannot be achieved without sustainable and intensive agricultural production. Intensification of both crop and livestock production started some decades ago and resulted in the so-called “green revolution” in crop production and in the expansion of livestock production – the “livestock revolution” (Gilbert et al., 2021). Recently, the international community set out 17 “sustainable development goals” (SDGs) to ensure development of the world as a whole in the coming years. Among those, SDG-2 aims to “end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture” through determining targets and indicators (Gil et al., 2019). One of these targets is to double agricultural productivity of small-scale farms. In parallel with intensification, we also have to consider the effect of climate change on the environment and on agricultural production. We can expect profound changes in the sustainability of various livestock systems mainly in the grazing/pastoral and in the mixed crop-livestock production systems due to decreased forage quantity and quality, increased heat stress, and animal health problems (Nardone et al., 2010). Although, the intensification of livestock production is necessary and essential to reach SDG targets, it also has some risks and unwanted effects that should be mitigated. These are the emergence of zoonotic diseases, the concentration of livestock in peri-urban areas, environmental degradation, and the spread of antimicrobial resistance (Gilbert et al., 2021). The number of camels has been continuously increasing in the last few decades and has reached approximately 40 million head of Bactrian and dromedary camels and this number is expected to increase to above 60 million in 25-years’ time (Faye, 2020). In parallel with the number of animals, the world’s annual camel milk production has also increased from 0.63 million tonnes in 1961 to 3.15 million tonnes in 2020 (FAO, 2020; https://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data/QCL); this is a 5-fold increase over the 60-yr period. With this quantity, camels are the fifth most important dairy animals, following cattle, water buffalo, goat, and sheep (Faye and Konuspayeva, 2012). However, until recently, camel milk had been produced exclusively by hand milking in traditional, extensive nomadic, or semiintensive farming systems, and such production could not maintain constant quantity and quality of raw milk for urban markets (Abeiderrahmane, 2005). In addition, most of the production had been consumed locally, without any quality control or further processing, and, therefore, camel milk has not yet been widely integrated into national and international markets (Faye et al., 2014). Moreover, camels were regarded mainly as pack or racing animals by many people including the general public, scientists, funding agencies, and policy makers. As a result, hardly any efforts have been made to intensify milk production and improve production traits in dromedaries. This situation is likely to change and the intensification of camel farming is expected to take place in the coming decades for several reasons. In addition to the growing world population and increased demand for products of animal origin in general, the public awareness of camel milk and meat is also increasing. At the same time agricultural practices will be affected by decreasing water resources and land desertification as a result of climate change allowing livestock species well adapted to arid environments to gain more space (Nardone et al., 2010; Kagunyu and Wanjohi, 2014; Gilbert el al., 2021). The first steps of intensification of the camel dairy industry started 15 to 20 yr ago (Nagy and Juhász, 2016). Machine milking has been introduced in several traditional camel keeping countries like Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (Wernery et al., 2004; Hammadi et al., 2010; Ayadi et al., 2013). Small-scale farms in Australia, Europe, and the United States have also started using milking machines for dromedaries. The world’s first large-scale camel dairy farm (Emirates Industry for Camel Milk and Products, EICMP) with processing and distribution facilities has also been established during this period (Juhasz and Nagy, 2012a; Nagy et al., 2013b). The aim of the project was to develop a biologically, environmentally, and financially sustainable, intensive camel milk production system and to meet the quantity and quality requirements of the market. It is evident that these goals could not be achieved without systematic research and development, including all aspects of camel behavior, nutrition, lactation physiology, reproduction, husbandry, and management, taking into account the special characteristics and requirements of this unique species. The aim of this paper is to review our experience on the present status and challenges related to the intensification of camel farming. The large pool of animals at EICMP and Camel Reproduction Centers (CRC) together with the solid data generated by the operations have provided an unprecedented opportunity for developing, monitoring, and improving an intensive camel milk production system for dromedaries. Here, we focus mainly on animal health, welfare, and management as well as on assisted reproduction. Earlier, the production potential of dromedaries was evaluated by hand-milking, with results showing great variability that were difficult to compare. This was partly due to the fact that authors used various measurement procedures and estimation for milk production, such as the calf suckling method, hand milking of two or four quarters, and the milk oxytocin technique (Simpkin and Rowlinson, 1998; Jemmali et al., 2016). Frequently, the estimated quantity of milk consumed by the calf was also added to the daily yield. Moreover, milk production has been expressed in different units such as daily or weekly average, daily maximum, total lactation or 305-day production, or herd average. Therefore, individual total production was reported ranging from 1,000 to 12,000 liters during an 8 to 18 months’ lactation period with significant variations between geographical regions (Africa vs. Asia) and daily maximum production reached as high as 35 to 40 liters (Faye, 2008). Recently, several detailed studies were conducted on the milk yield of dromedaries in various countries and a standardized milk recording method was proposed (Boujenane, 2020). Musaad et al. (2013) reported a lactation average of 2,220 ± 925 liters during a 12.5 mo lactation period in mixed breed dromedaries (n = 47) in Saudi Arabia. In contrast, the production potential of Maghrebi camels (n = 10) in Egypt was lower, with an average production of 1612 ± 710 liters during 353 ± 152 d lactation period (Abdalla et al., 2015). The total milk yield of Tunisian camels in one study (n = 8) was an average 2,642 ± 523 liters for 390 d of lactation (Jemmali et al., 2016), while in another study (n = 95) it was 1,388 ± 575 liters for 11 mo of lactation (Chamekh et al., 2020). At EICMP in the UAE, the mean total production was 3,152 ± 73.5 kg for an average lactation period of 585 ± 11.0 d in 385 machine-milked dromedaries and the daily maximum rarely The lactation a high with production during the mean yield of the maximum by the (Nagy and 2016). milk yield is by several such as lactation milking milking method, production and (Nagy and Juhász, 2020). most camels are in countries or semiintensive systems, intensification the further development of the species and into the food production (Faye et al., 2014; 2020). at intensive farming as an and environment for dromedaries that the of the animals and the of people to focus mainly on or intensive camel milk production requires a significant initial to the for a number of animals with space and a and and water as well as and to the animals. 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