Camel milk is nowadays rising interest as a promotional product both economically and socially. This new importance of camel milk is reflected on the one hand by the continuous increase in world production, which has accelerated during the last two decades and on the other hand by the expansion of demand, driven by the passion of consumers attracted by the therapeutic and nutritional virtues of camel milk.

In Tunisia, the camel milk value chain benefits from the incentive framework for the promotion of agricultural investments and particularly the encouragements inaugurate by the national strategy for the development of the camel sector. This value chain is facing the same worldwide trends and the initiatives for its development are beginning to emerge from various public and private operators. The consumer is increasingly demands camel milk because of its therapeutic properties confirmed by scientific research: anti-diabetic, anti-infectious and anti-cancer properties. Camel milk is much more expensive (nearly five times) compared to cow’s milk, which gives dairy camel breeding a definite comparative advantage despite the modest productivity compared with other dairy species. However, the camel milk value chain in Tunisia faces several limits at the level of its main links (feed, production, collection, packaging, processing, marketing). The problem that still arises is how to make camel milk available to the consumer in a form that respects the standards of the market and how to succeed in transforming this milk on industrial scale into dairy products. This problem can be resolved by the development of a high quality camel sector with actors who have a good grasp of best practices and ensure the proper functioning of all links in the chain.

In this context, the PAQ-collabora project “Valorization of camel milk by promoting a value chain based on a public-private partnership (PPP)” was implemented by the Livestock and Wildlife Laboratory (LEFS) at the Arid Regions Institute (IRA) and its partners from 2018 to 2022. This project will consolidate the research activities carried out within the LEFS research program, in particular the PROCAMED project “Promotion of innovative camel systems and local sectors for sustainable management of Saharan territories” (2012-2015) and the MECAMEL project ʺPromotion of the milk mechanization among small breeders of dairy camelsʺ (2021-2023). The latter aims to improve the productivity of camels through the development of prototypes of special camel milking machines.

In terms of development and since 2016, Tunisia has implemented the camel strategy led by the Livestock and Pastures Office (OEP) in partnership with the Arid Land Institute and stakeholders. The main objectives of this strategy are to limit the decline in numbers, improve the production and profitability of camel farms and enhance desert rangelands to preserve the ecological balance in these brittle areas. Other development programs contribute significantly to the promotion of camel breeding and the camel milk value chain, mainly the PRODEFIL project intended for the Governorate of Médenine. In this context and on the occasion of the closure of the PAQ-collabora project, the LEFS and the DRR organize the International Seminar on the Promotion of the Camel Milk Value Chain: Technology transfer and Public-Private Partnership (PPP): CAMILK 2022, with the contribution of the MECAMEL project, in partnership with the OEP and with the support of international partners.