🇲🇦MoroccoNorth Africa
Moroccan camel industry faces pressure from drought despite resilience
via Le Matin3 min read
The camel industry in Morocco, historically central to desert regions, is experiencing significant pressure due to successive droughts. Dromedaries, known for their robustness and adaptability to extreme desert conditions, have long been a symbol of survival and a primary source of income for two-thirds of the population in the Moroccan Sahara's three regions, providing milk, meat, and animals for sale. This pastoral farming model, which relies heavily on natural resources, has demonstrated resilience due to the dromedary's ability to thrive in poor pastures and endure prolonged water deficits, making it a more robust alternative than other species in arid areas, according to a 2024 report by the Hassan II Agronomic and Veterinary Institute IAV and the International Cooperation Center in Agronomic Research for Development CIRAD. However, this resilience is now being tested. A national census in August 2025 reported approximately 106,000 camels, a significant decrease from the usual average of around 150,000 observed between the mid-2010s and early 2020s. This decline is directly linked to successive droughts. The industry's dependence on natural resources directly impacts reproduction, productivity, and profitability. Zootechnical performance remains limited, with a calving rate of about 35%, an abortion rate of 14%, and an overall mortality rate of around 2.5%, as per the IAV Hassan II and CIRAD study. Economically, profitability is variable and often fragile, influenced by
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