Algeria, despite its great dependence on imports, is aiming for food self-sufficiency. But the drought affecting its coastal strip threatens these ambitions. As an alternative, authorities are looking to the Sahara, where groundwater is plentiful
Like every morning, Mohamed Gasmi leaves to inspect his farm. His nearly five-hectare field, located in the Baba-Ali region, near Algiers, has been plowed for several weeks to receive oat grains.
But as December begins, rainfall is still too sparse. “In principle, we have to sow in October. But the rain is long overdue, so we are waiting,” the 40-year-old, with a swarthy complexion, a bit fatalistic, told Middle East Eye.
On this November day, it is abnormally hot. The sun, at its zenith, caresses this immense plain of Mitidja, whose yellowed vegetation has not recovered from the heat waves of summer and the heat which continued in October and even during the first days of November. .
Once fertile, known for their abundant production of citrus fruit, market garden produce and cereals, this agricultural land which stretches as far as the eye can see from Algiers to the borders of Blida (to the south) and Boumerdès (to the east of Algiers) are now invaded by concrete.
Mohamed Gasmi is one of those farmers who, in addition to dealing with the constructions that are springing up like mushrooms around his farm, has to deal with capricious rainfall, which threatens his activity.
Like the Mitidja cereal grower, other farmers complain about the delays in the rains which are having an increasingly negative impact on agricultural yields.
Reduce grain imports
Rachid Oulebsir, farmer and olive grower in the Soummam valley (in Lower Kabylie), gives an example in his sector. Retired from National Education, aged 70, he has become over the years a specialist in the olive tree, a tree to which he has also devoted a book.
“Usually, the olive picking starts at the beginning of December. But this year, due to drought and delayed rains, the olives are prematurely ripe. Some farmers, therefore, started picking earlier than planned. The harvest will therefore be meager compared to the previous year, for example,” he told, describing a dried fruit without flesh.
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The situation on the ground and the weather warnings contrast with the ambitions of the Algerian government, which plans to cover the country’s food needs up to 83% in 2023.
This ambition, displayed by Prime Minister Aïmene Benabdarrahmane, is justified by the increase recorded in the production of certain foodstuffs.
This is the case of cereals, whose production increased in 2022 by 48% compared to the previous season, according to the Minister of Agriculture Hafid Henni who spoke in September before the deputies.
This increase also affects legumes: production reached 1.2 million quintals, an increase of 20% compared to last season. Potato production has increased by 30% with 44.2 million quintals harvested in 2022.
Now the Algerian government is aiming higher. He no longer wants to be content with achieving excess yields in fruit and vegetables, he wants to extend this profitability to strategic sectors such as wheat and milk, two products widely consumed in Algeria but largely imported.
“It would take penetrating rains as soon as possible to hope to catch up and not disrupt the crop cycle, especially cereals”
– Mohand-Amokrane Nouad, agricultural engineer
To do this, it relies on incentive measures aimed at improving yields in these sectors. Farmers can, for example, buy at very favorable prices special seeds, adapted to hot and arid climates, which the State buys on the international market.
“We must, from the next agricultural season, considerably reduce the quantities of imported cereals”, recently insisted President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, who wishes to depend less and less on imports. But for that, agriculture must “modernize, a modernization that must also affect techniques and mentalities”, he added, alluding to the inertia that prevents the agricultural sector from modernizing.
However, the Algerian authorities must also deal with an increasingly threatening drought according to experts . This constitutes “a risk” for the yield, according to agricultural engineer Mohand-Amokrane Nouad.
“For the majority of crops, the planting season is now several weeks past,” he told MEE . “It would take penetrating rains as soon as possible to hope to catch up and not disrupt the crop cycle, especially cereals.”
Invest in the Sahara
“We can sow wheat even in December, or even in January”, tempers Rachid Oulebsir, who hopes for a return “to the ten-year cycle of rainfall [decade during which precipitation is more abundant than the following decade] specific to the Mediterranean” to fill the water table in particular.
The Algerian authorities are encouraging farmers to invest in the vast desert estates sitting on the gigantic water table of the Sahara, in particular by connecting farms to the electricity grid and financial aid for the drilling of wells for irrigation.
“The future of Algeria today lies in the Saharan lands, especially since the Algerian South could set itself up as a real base in order to achieve food security, through quality investments in the agricultural sector” , recommended the Minister of the Interior, Brahim Merad, during a trip to the wilaya (prefecture) of El-Meghaier (South-East).
Qatar, via the company Baladna, considered one of the most important dairy production companies in the Persian Gulf, plans to open a farm in the Center-West of Algeria for the breeding of cows and milk production (AFP/Karim Jaafar)
For this, he promised, “the State is determined to help and support investors wishing to develop this sector, within the framework of the implementation of the commitments made by the President of the Republic”.
To achieve these objectives, the government wants to proceed in stages.
“Of course, the priority at the moment is to achieve total self-sufficiency in durum wheat and barley, and to increase the current production of soft wheat. But afterwards, we must further develop our capacities to produce a surplus of barley and durum wheat for export,” suggested Nacredine Messaoudi, head of the Algerian Interprofessional Cereals Office (OIC, a public body) during a conference held in May in Algiers.
Currently, the annual value of agricultural production is estimated at just over $25 billion. The sector represents 14% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) according to the government.
But the bill for food imports is around 10 billion dollars a year. These are essentially cereals and milk for which local production is not sufficient despite the policy of subsidies.
Foreign investments are also planned to make up part of this deficit. Qatar , via Baladna, considered one of the most important dairy production companies in the Persian Gulf, will thus invest in dairy production and the breeding of cows in a pilot farm in El Bayadh (center-west). The project is expected to start in early 2023.
