505 Transformation of traditional pastoral livestock systems of Egypt.

Helmy R. Metawi Animal Production Research Institute, Agriculture Research Center, Cairo, Egypt hrmmetawi@hotmail.com Abstract: Background: The Northwestern coastal region of Egypt extends about 500 kilometers along the Mediterranean coastline. The pastoral livestock production systems prevail in this area. The zone has witnessed major changes over the last 50 years; demographic growth, urbanization and degradation of rangelands. More recently, the zone has faced by drought that has become more frequent. Objective: to assess the effect of drought on livestock farming systems and Bedouins socio-economic vulnerability and to identify the most frequently adaptive process developed by Bedouins to reduce the negative impact of drought . Methodology: A semi-structured questionnaire was used for interviewing 162 randomly selected Bedouins. Result: Analysis of data showed that drought produce a large number of impacts that affects Bedouins economical standard of living. The annual sheep and goat productivity declined by 18.03 and 8.33%, respectively. Furthermore, the returns on capital invested in sheep and goat production were significantly reduced by around 47 and 34%, respectively. The analyses showed a significant relationship exists between the Bedouins socioeconomic characteristics and the encountered challenges (p < 0.05). Breeders have developed different adaptive mechanisms against drought conditions such as decreasing flock size, supplementary feeding , changing herd composition ,early marketing of their lambs/kids and migration of family members to urban areas . Conclusion: Hence, more emphasis should be given to improving livestock productivity and proper utilization of Bedouins resources. It is important to take into consideration socio-economic factors that influence small ruminant development programs to enhance their success.