2.POPULATION AND PRODUCTION

2.1 Population

2.1.1 Breed Composition

The sheep population in Morocco is composed of 99 percent native breeds and 1 percent exotic breeds. All sheep are of the thin-tailed type. However, Miegeville (1952) distinguished between three different populations:

-	The Berber population found in the Atlas mountains, which includes breeds such as Aknoul, Aït Barka, Ouaouizart, Marmoucha, Aït Mohad and Haute Moulouya.
-	The Arabic population located in the eastern and western hills, composed of the Tadla, Sardi, Beni Guil, Tounsit and Zoulay breeds.
-	The Syrian population commonly located near the Atlantic coast. This population includes Beni Ahsen, Zemmour, Doukkala and Abda breeds.

2.1.2 Number

The sheep population was estimated at 14.5 million head in 1986 (Livestock Service, MARA, 1986) which places Morocco among the major sheep raising countries In Africa. Table 2.1 Indicates the trend In sheep numbers since 1960.

The change In sheep number Is characterized by three different phases: a growth phase from 1960 to 1971, during which the animal rate of Increase was about 24 percent; a period of stagnation with some minor fluctuations reaching around 15 million head from 1971 to 1980; a decreasing phase from 16.5 million in 1980 to 12.9 million in 1985 following a very severe drought, with a slight recovery in 1986. These fluctuations in sheep numbers are the result of an extensive management system where feed resources depend strongly on climatic conditions.

In addition to the variation between years, sheep numbers vary within the same year. The highest number is recorded in spring, just after the main lambing season; and the lowest number occurs after the summer season during which the number of lambs slaughtered is at its maximum. During a normal year, the difference between the two periods is on average 10 to 14 percent.

2.1.3 Age and sex distribution

The last livestock census shows that 34 percent of the sheep population is composed of lambs of less than 6 months, whereas animals of more than 2 years of age represent 54 percent.

On a national basis the proportion of males to females is about 25 percent and 75 percent respectively. The majority of males (74 percent) is composed of lambs younger than 6 months, whereas the proportion of males of more than 2 years of age is only 7 percent. This imbalance between different age classes is inverted in the female population. Thus, the highest proportion of females (67 percent) includes those of 2 years or older, among which 22 percent are more than 6 years old, whereas females of less than 6 months of age constitute 23 percent.

Table 2.1: Trends in the national sheep population
(in thousand heads)

(Livestock Service, MARA, 1986)

These data also show that the proportion of breeding ewes is about half of the total population, the culling rate is less than 20 percent, and the average number of breeding ewes per ram in the flock is about 30 ewes.

2.1.4 Distribution by size of flock

In a livestock survey implemented in 1976, average flock size was about 32 sheep. Most flock sizes varied from 51 to 100 sheep, flocks of less than 20 sheep represented 18 percent, whereas those of a size greater than 100 head were 34 percent of the total.

The survey also showed that the total number of sheep breeders was about 520 000. Of these, 85 percent held 45 percent of the total sheep population with a flock size of less than 50 head.

2.1.5 Geographical distribution

Sheep are found throughout Morocco. However, some regions are well known as sheep raising areas such as the Atlas mountains and the eastern and western hills. Figure 2.1 shows the most important sheep areas.

The 1986 livestock census showed that almost 30 percent of sheep were located in four provinces, with the rest spread over the other 36 provinces (Table 2.2)

Figure 2.1: Geographical distribution of Moroccan Sheep

Table 2.2: Distribution of the sheep population in Morocco

2.2 Production

Sheep contribute significantly to meat, wool and milk production in Morocco.

2.2.1 Meat

Sheep are the second species after cattle to provide people in the country with red meat. Table 2.3 shows that mutton production increased from 45 630 tons in 1960 to 63 000 tons in 1984. However, the trend was irregular, with higher production recorded in periods of drought, mainly as a result of the large number of sheep slaughtered.

There are 878 slaughterhouses either in cities or in the rural areas. Those located in cities are open every day, whereas the rural slaughterhouses are open only the day of the weekly market. In 1985, the proportion of sheep slaughtered in the cities and In the rural areas as recorded by the Livestock Service, was 31.5 percent and 22.5 percent respectively. Almost half of the sheep killed were not recorded because slaughtering occurred either in private houses during ceremonies or religious festivals (Aïd El Kébir), or in some areas not supervised by the Livestock Service.

Average carcass weight of sheep slaughtered from 1962 to 1983 was about 12 kg, ranging from 10.8 kg to 13.7 kg (Table 2.4). Here again, the fluctuations are the result of climatic conditions which affect productivity of grazing lands. The carcass weight of sheep slaughtered in cities is greater than of those killed in rural areas (Table 2.5).

Table 2.3: Trends in meat production from cattle, sheep and
goats (in tons)

(Developpement de la production fourragère, MARA, 1986)

 The number of sheep slaughtered has varied over the years and also within the same year. A large proportion of sheep are slaughtered during May, June and July because of the occurrence of the dry season when sheep owners must lighten the stocking rate of the rangelands by selling their lambs.

The largest quantity of mutton is produced by young sheep. Thus, 69 percent of production comes from lambs of less than 1 year of age, and 29 percent is obtained from those of 1 to 2 years of age. Usually, adult males are kept for ceremonies and religious festivals.

Most meat production marketed through slaughterhouses comes from males. In 1985, they contributed by 87 percent to total mutton production. Moreover, among the small proportion of females slaughtered, 87 percent were less than 1 year old.

The price of mutton has increased tremendously over the years. It went from 8 Dirhams per kilogram in 1970 to 32 Dirhams per kilogram in 1985. The price of sheep meat varies slightly during the same year; it is higher in autumn and winter than during spring and summer.

2.2.2 Growth

Published literature on sheep in Morocco shows that there is a wide range of values for liveweight at different ages. Weights were recorded at birth and at 30, 60 and 90 days and the average is shown in Table 2.6 of sheep either on stations or in the field.

Table 2.4: Number of sheep slaughtered, total production and average
carcass weight

(Annuaire Statistique, Ministère du Plan)

Table 2.5: Carcass weight in slaughterhouses of some large cities in
1983

(Livestock Service, MARA)

Table 2.6: Weight (kg) of lambs at different ages

(Ben Lakhal, 1983)

In comparing five breeds raised in the same environment, Ben Lakhal (1983) concluded that the heaviest breed was Sardi and the lightest was D'Man at any age. The average birth weight for the 5 breeds was about 3 kg and the average weight at weaning (90 days) was around 15 kg. These results also show that the average daily gain (ADG) varies from 100 to 150 g.

The weight values found in different locations were generally low. In the harsh region of the anti-Atlas, Boudiab (1981) reported that the ADG from birth to weaning was as low as 53 g.

2.2.3 Wool

Even though the number of sheep is high, total wool production is low. Table 2.7 shows that production decreased from 13 707 tons in 1980 to 9 661 tons in 1984. This decline resulted from drought which affected both the number of sheep sheared and the weight of fleeces.

Most of the wool produced is of the coarse type used for the carpet industry. The fineness of wool of Moroccan sheep varies from 36 to 60 in the UK system which corresponds to a fibre diameter of 25 to 44 u. After cleaning, wool production represents about 45 percent of greasy wool production. This percentage varies from 40 to 75 according to breeds and management system. Table 2.8 indicates fleece weight and wool quality of some native breeds.

2.2.4  Skins

In 1983, total skin production was 4 080 400 pieces. More than half (64 percent) was used in the skin industry, the remainder, mainly obtained from sheep slaughtered in private houses, was used for domestic handicrafts.

2.2.5 Milk

Production and consumption of sheep milk are very low. On the national basis, only 8 percent of shepherds milk their ewes, and all milk produced is for domestic consumption.

Milk production increased slightly from 24 million litres in 1960 to 31 million litres in 1980, indicating an annual increase of 1.4 percent (Table 2.9). The contribution of sheep milk to national milk production is low and averages 4.5 percent. This proportion has also decreased over the years as a result of a tremendous increase of milk production from cattle.

Morocco has no specialized milking breed. However, the results obtained from the main breeds in some experimental stations showed that Timahdite, Sardi and Beni Ahsen may produce better than D'Man and Beni Guil for the same length of lactation (Table 2.10).

Table 2.7: Wool production (tons)

(Laidouni, 1986)

Table 2.8: Fleece weight and wool quality of some breeds

(Bourfia, Laidouni and El Hmamsi,1987)

Table 2.9: Trend of milk production from milked cows, goats and ewes
(in million litres)

(Livestock Service, MARA)

Table 2.10: Milk yield and composition of some native breeds

2.2.6 Reproduction

Apart from the D'Man breed, which has a very short seasonal anoestrus allowing two lambings per year, all the other breeds have a limited sexual season starting in June and ending in December.

Fertility defined as the percentage of ewes pregnant after mating is about 85 percent. There is almost no difference between breeds on stations or in the field (Table 2.11).

With regard to prolificacy, except for D'Man ewes which give more than one lamb per lambing, those of the other breeds usually give single births. In some other studies, Bouix, Kadiri and Chari (1974) and Khallouk (1987) reported that litter size of D'Man was 2.1 varying from 1 to 7.

2.2.7 Lamb mortality

About 15 percent of lambs born are lost between birth and weaning. However, this proportion varies among breeds according to the flock management system. In comparing lamb mortality of 5 breeds raised in the same environment, Ben Lakhal (1983) reported that the highest mortality (30.6 percent) occurred in the D'Man breed because of the low birth weight of lambs resulting from higher litters, whereas the lowest proportion was recorded in the Sardi breed (Table 2.12).

Table 2.11: Fertility and prolificacy of native ewes

(Ben Lakhal, 1983)

Table 2.12: Mortality (%) of lambs from birth to 90 days of age

(Ben Lakhal, 1983)