After the last rains, hope is reborn in Algeria. The countryside has regained its spring colors. The green of wheat and pasture dominates.
For many Algerian farmers, we came very close to a disaster. The Relizane region was particularly affected by the winter drought. Thus, the recent rains were greeted with relief.
In the still sparse fields, the wheat is starting up again. The lack of water had even led farmers to release their sheep on the affected plots. On Ennahar TV, Mohamed, a farmer testifies: โThis plot of wheat that you see green, we thought it was irrecoverable.โ
Further on, sheep graze the grass at the edge of the fields. The grass is dotted with flowers whose yellow contrasts with the green of the vegetation. It only took a few days of rain for the yellowing vegetation to regain color and flourish.
These rains have given new vigor to the pea plants. A few weeks ago, farmers were complaining about the low number of pods per plant. As Boualem confides, the water allowed the plants a new cycle of vegetation. And from 6 a.m. until 1 p.m., day laborers harvest whole bags of the precious pods by hand.
In this month of Ramadan, the color green has even invaded cities and their markets. Everywhere bunches of parsley and mint on the stalls or on the wholesale markets like in Bougerra (Blida). “We get up at 5 am to bring the goods from the fields to here”, explains a trader. In front of his van loaded with mint, parsley, fennel and salads, Abdelwaheb says he lives off the informal trade in these products.
In Relizane and in regions that have experienced a drought, the wheat yield will undoubtedly be affected by the lack of water. The return of the rain allows the cereals to form new stems.
But for these โtardillonsโ to manage to form ears and catch up, the April rains will be decisive. The few quintals thus gained will pay for the costs of seeds and fertilizer incurred by the farmers and will make it possible to relaunch a new crop cycle, hoping for better weather conditions next year.
In cereals, amateurism remains dominant
The bucolic landscape of the Algerian countryside this spring is only a seasonal interlude. After the month of May, the first heat will be there then will come to the summer heatwave as well as the absence of rain until October. In the tense context of the world grain market, the question for agricultural services is to manage to produce the maximum by making the best and sustainable use of the resources of the environment.
For many of them, the fields should not create illusions, amateurism dominates. Their green color does not hide the low density of the wheat plants.
Their vegetation remains sparse due to outdated sowing practices which means that out of three seeds only two germinate when it is not just one. Others are an uncertain green due to late sowing. The belief โ that you have to wait for the rain to sow โ remains strong when it is not the quantities of fertilizer that remain insufficient.
When the plot presents a beautiful green appearance from afar, a close examination reveals many surprises. In the wilaya of Guelma, at the level of many plots, the spaces between the wheat plants are occupied by bromine. A parasitic plant whose single foot can produce 3,000 seeds. A plant that, throughout the season, draws water and fertilizers from the soil initially intended for wheat for its own benefit.
Missing grains at sowing, insufficient fertilizer doses, and inappropriate weed control mean that wheat plots do not fully express their potential.
Sometimes, as in Oued Zรฉnati (Guelma), no trace of wheat plants on the plots; not even stunted or bromine-covered feet. Only as far as the eye can see in this season is the hideous trace of the unworked soil. The cause Fallow, a tradition dating from the colonial period states that โthe land must rest every other yearโ.
This amateurism remains very present in the countryside and results in missing quintals. Quintals will have to be compensated by imports of wheat with prices flirting with 400 euros per ton.
The challenge of agriculture, enjoy the spring
The semi-arid climate obliges Algeria to take advantage of the ideal growing conditions of the rainy months, including those of spring. Easier said than done.
The agronomist Arezki Meckliche denounces the late deliveries of fertilizers and seeds in the South at the level of farms growing wheat under pivot.
From the north of the country, it involves transporting hundreds of tonnes of inputs over thousands of kilometers. Apparently, the agricultural services have serious logistical problems.
On Channel III of the Algerian Radio, Souhila El Hachemi asks his guests invited to consider agricultural issues if more resources should not be granted to the agricultural sector. Certainly.
For agricultural services, the challenge is to ensure that each year, in the north of the country, farmers plant all of their lands, that they sow on time, spread the necessary doses of fertilizer, and fight against ” green pests” such as bromine.
In addition, it is for them to find and offer farmers the best techniques to enable plants to ward off โdry spellsโ between two periods of rain.
The context of the Ukrainian crisis makes this an urgent minimum. In the medium term, the challenge is even greater. The latest report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) announces at the gates of Algiers, a climate identical to that of El-Oued.
For the moment, with the return of the spring rains, the farmers are not sulking their pleasure.