VOLUME 70 : 2022

The Algerian cattle population, in all its diversity, evokes the wealth of the country and represents a real heritage. Its territorial location is explained by the nature of the soil, the climate and the quality of the pastures. In Algeria, the local breed “Atlas Brown” or Cape Bon Blond of Iberian origin [1], is divided into rustic sub-breeds according to [2]: Cheurfa, Guelmoise, Sétifienne, Chélifienne, and Kabyle which take their name from the region where they live. Its main ancestor would be the Bos mauritanicus discovered by Thomas in the quaternary period in North Africa. The total population was about 1, 404,000 head, of which 764,000 were breeding females and 19,000 breeding males, occupying difficult areas. Almost two thirds of the total population is located in the east of the country [3]. The local herd contributes about one third of the national milk production, or 1000L/year [4]. It is necessary to know the physicochemical composition of the raw milk of local cows in the sampled area in the region of El Ouldja because no study has been conducted in this area and no information is available on its physicochemical composition. This synthesis aims to fill this gap by evaluating the nutritional quality of raw milk according to the rearing practices carried out in three traditional farms in the El Ouldja region (Algeria), rearing exclusively autochthonous cows: Atlas Brown, and to popularise the phenotypic characteristics of this part of the Algerian bovine herd, which serves as a support for the preservation of our genetic resources.