The Prime Minister explained, in response to the concerns of members of the National People’s Assembly (APN) on the Government’s General Policy Declaration, during a plenary on the subject of livestock breeding, that the results of the census conducted, for the first time in 2022-2023, by the State, showed a decrease in this herd to 21.7 million heads, including 17.3 million heads of sheep.
In order to guarantee the stability and development of the red meat sector, he recalled the measures taken, including the opening of the importation of beef and sheep meat with a reduction in customs duties from 30% to 5% in order to ensure the availability of these meats and regulate their prices.
Concerning the stability and development of the white meat sector, the Prime Minister affirmed that the State had taken measures to strengthen the availability of the product by “launching a call for tenders to import a limited quantity” of white meat and of hatching eggs, and “thus have a strategic stock in anticipation of the next month of Ramadan”.
Drought: 90,000 farmers affected in 34 wilayas
Furthermore, the Prime Minister recalled the exceptional measures taken by the President of the Republic to compensate farmers affected by the effects of drought and climate change recorded in certain wilayas last May.
“In solidarity with farmers in order to preserve their income and avoid a deterioration in their social conditions which could hinder the successful launch of the 2023-2024 agricultural season, the Government has taken concrete measures to identify those affected, and preliminary results made it possible to identify 90,000 farmers in 34 wilayas, with a disaster area estimated at 1.2 million hectares and a water deficit of 90% in most of the wilayas in the north of the country, continued the Prime Minister.
