Beef farming: farmers’ strategies in the Grand Cheliff plains of Algeria

Abstract. Beef production is an important activity in Algeria, mainly located in the coastal and plains areas in the North of the country. In order to determine the strategy of beef farmers, a survey of 102 bovine farms was carried out in the Grand Cheliff plains of Algeria. Through this survey, three major classes of farms were identified: 1) small-scale livestock farmers with moderate means of production, an average Bovine Livestock Unit (BLU) of 3.18 and a production cost of 572 AD/Kg; 2) medium-scale livestock farmers, selling their production directly on the market, with a BLU of 10 and a production cost of 623 AD/Kg; 3) large-scale milk-meat farmers, with an average BLU of 22, and a production cost of 581 AD/Kg. Despite good organizational and financial performances, beef production in Algeria remains fragile, subject to climatic changes and dependent on foreign markets for the supply of raw material and inputs which constitute a threat to its sustainability (1 € = 140 Dinars).