CHEMORA, Algeria (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Squinting under a relentless sun, Houssin Ghodbane watches his son tend a flock of 120 of their sheep.
Fifty-year-old Ghodbane, his tanned face etched with deep lines, has been herding sheep for 20 years, having inherited the job and land from his father. But in this dry region, worsening cycles of drought are posing new challenges to an old profession.
The country is also facing higher temperatures.
“Drought stops everything,” he said.
Algeria’s government has tried to help herders, including by providing limited subsidies to offset some of their increasing costs for water and feed.
Ghodbane, who was born on the land he now farms, says the seasons are changing, with longer summers interfering with the spring and fall rains that are crucial to strong harvests and herding years.
After graduating from high school, he followed in his father’s footsteps and has worked on the farm full time for the past five years, herding animals from six in the morning to eight in the evening.