Agriculture gains prominence in Algeria's economy
Algeria has registered an increase in the value of the agricultural sector's gross domestic product, exceeding some 35 billion dollars during the 2023-2024 season. This has been achieved thanks to an ambitious strategy designed by the authorities to maximise the role of this sector despite the challenges posed by drought.
The effects of climate change have highlighted the need to boost and accelerate the progress of agriculture, as it still needs many incentives as a vital sector that ensures food for the population and generates employment opportunities, despite the obstacles to achieving the targets set.
This is why the government is seeking to advance this sector during the next phase, although its contribution to economic growth raises doubts about the country's ability to make it play a greater role in development.
Currently, according to figures from Agriculture Minister Youssef Charfa, revenue from the agricultural sector constitutes 18% of the country's GDP.
‘The government is working to reclaim land through irrigation with the aim of reaching 1.3 million hectares of irrigated land in the south of the country, in the desert, which will be allocated to cereals and strategic crops,’ he said, according to the Algerian news agency.
Algeria is implementing a strategic plan to improve food security. As part of this strategy, last April it signed an agreement with Qatar to establish a huge milk powder production project costing more than 3.5 billion dollars.
This initiative, which was signed with the Qatari Food and Dairy Company (Baladna), aims to cover 50% of the Algerian milk market's needs, as the project will be implemented over an area of 117,000 hectares in the desert state of Adrar.
Algeria also concluded an agreement with Italy last July, as part of the same plan, for the implementation of a major project in the cereals, dried vegetables and pasta sector, worth 420 million euros.
The project is expected to help improve local production of dried cereals and pulses and increase exports of these products.
Algeria's strategic plan to improve food security stipulates the implementation of the national plan for the development of strategic areas, including cereals, dry pulses, sugar and oilseed plants, seeds and milk.
The authorities also aim to achieve self-sufficiency in wheat, especially after this year's significant production, which covered 80% of domestic demand.
In recent years, Algiers has focused on the southern regions in order to stimulate agricultural activity due to the abundance of space and groundwater.
This decision turned desert states such as Biskra, Wadi Souf and Mania into a food hub to meet local needs, especially in light of declining activity in the north due to drought.
The government is seeking to boost its agricultural assets in the hope of developing the sector, which for many years has been distant from the state's attention compared to neighbouring countries due to over-reliance on oil and gas.
For the Algerian authorities, this decision aims to achieve a better understanding of the reality of agriculture while establishing realistic indicators within the sustainable development objectives, designing policies to serve farmers and actors in this strategic sector.
It is estimated that Algeria has more than one million agricultural and livestock farms, although it seems that they are not enough to achieve food sufficiency. One of the problems it faces is drought. This problem has affected crop productivity, leading Algeria to increase supplies to around 30% of its annual food needs, led by wheat, worth up to 10 billion dollars.
The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) ranks the OPEC member country fourth in the world, and second in Africa, among the largest importers of wheat, with an annual rate of between 7 and 11 million tonnes.
The local market consumes between 9 and 12 million tonnes of durum and soft wheat annually, most of which is imported, especially from the French and Canadian markets.
