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A Special International Report
Prepared by
The Washington Times
Advertising Department - Published on July 2, 1999
[Home Page]
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Advertisers (1) Sonatrach,
An International Petroleum Group
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Agriculture potential is tremendous but investment is needed
One indicator that terrorism is now no longer a major issue is the return of farmers to their land. The number of hectares plowed last year increased considerably. The government has also announced plans that will make parts of the greatest desert in the world green again. When French settlers farmed the Algerian soil, production of wine was prolific and yields of cereals were high. It has often been complained that after independence farmers in the new socialist state let farms run down and were more interested in getting jobs in the towns than continuing the hard work of the countryside. In fact, the same phenomenon exists today in many other developing countries. As soon as better education facilities are available, the young people with qualifications that are mainly suited for urban life seek work in the cities. The rural exodus has struck Algeria in a lesser way and still plays an important part in its 30 percent level of unemployment. Benalia Belhouadjeb, the minister of agriculture and fisheries, says that economic management of agriculture is politically oriented. “It is a strategic sector which has an important role to play in the country's economic growth. Agriculture and water- you cannot separate these two resources. “We are in the first year of a new program whose object is to increase the agricultural surface and stabilize the population and improve their revenues. The aim of this program is to increase the agricultural surface by 600,000 hectares and create 500,000 jobs - at a cost of 72 million dinars over three years. The state will bear 70 percent of the cost of this program. "We are also instituting a second program for the Saharan regions. The state will pay to bring electricity and drill for water. There is an enormous surface available - at first it involves 150,000 hectares. But the final objective is one million hectares in modules of from 500 to 1,000 hectares."
In 1990 the state returned lands to their owners, so about 5,200,000 hectares are now in private hands; 2,800,000 hectares as state property, divided into individual or collective units. Production is better on the privately owned farms. It had been noticed that certain farmers were having problems with banks, because there was no security for loans - no guarantee for the banks. And there was not much investment for this reason which is why in 1998 we presented a project of law dealing with the problem. "The following phase is the modernization of agriculture. Our president is in favor of privatizing the land as long as it keeps its present vocation. It sufficed to organize the professions and put them in contact. Potatoes have gone from 600,000 tons to 1,100,000. “In the South, we have a project in partnership with the Spanish. And we are negotiating with Canadians, so there is complete opening. The Sahara will be for cereals, maize and early market garden crops. “Each zone of the Sahara is different. Studies have been carried out to match production with soil and water quality. There is no obligation to grow particular crops. There had been a program to improve cereal production. There are areas in the south where we have arrived at 63 quintaux/ha. "The yearly average for cereals in previous years has been 24 million quintaux, last year 30 million. This year there has been stress due to dry weather but we hope that we will exceed last year's figures." Measures were being set in place to improve water supply through well drilling.
"Our objective is to cover the national requirements. “This year for the first time Algeria has been exporting potatoes to Britain. We used to produce 50,000 tons of tomatoes and we imported 10,000 - now we are covering our needs and there will soon be a surplus for export. “For cereals you need large spaces and heavy investment for electricity and drilling wells. The state is going to take this these two elements in hand and this will encourage the other investors. But this is where we need further investment. The country had previously imported cereal seed but it had not given good results. "We came back to the farmer's common sense and now the problem is solved. Research was continuously being carried out to find improved varieties. Breeders' confidence in the state was coming back. At one point only 8,500 cows were being imported each year, but in 1998 it rose to 17,000 and 10, 000 cows had been brought in during the first three months of year. “When there were no security problems, 3,200,000 hectares were plowed. This had dropped considerably because of fears of terrorism but as a sign that things are improving again, in 1997 it went back up to 3,700,00 hectares.” The ministry wants to encourage foreign investment and partnerships in agriculture and research and points out that a considerable effort has been made to remove obstacles including fiscal and customs barriers. The Algerian wine producing organization is negotiating with American producers particularly over the Mascara region, which is known for its local wines. "We are currently extending our vineyards, " said the minister. "As far as fishing is concerned an evaluation is being carried to find out exactly what we have. We cannot ask an investor to take part without knowing what we have got.” Work continues on the trans -Saharan Highway with hopes that Mali and Niger would soon be able to benefit. The agricultural sector accounts for 12 percent of the gross national product and employs 25 percent of the working population, using 47 million hectares out of Algeria's 238 million hectares - 8 million under cultivation, 32 million as pastures and 7 million in forest. Agricultural growth was an average of 2.18 percent from 1980 to 1990, increasing to 5 percent since that date. Production in 1997 was $8 billion and imports were $2.2 billion. Production last year was 30,252,000 quintaux of cereals, 11 million quintaux of potatoes. Market garden products, 32,859,130 quintaux; industrial tomatoes, 4,355,240 quintaux; dates 3,873,130 quintaux; red meat 3 million quintaux; white meat 1,600,000 quintaux; milk 1,200 million liters. At Adrar, more than 1,000 kilometers from the coast in a wilaya which counts 427,000 square kilometers and a population of only 310,000, an ambitious project is going ahead to increase yields of cereals, tomatoes, melons, potatoes and dates. |
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Table of Contents (1) His Excellency Abdelaziz Bouteflika, President of the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria (2) Country has resources and potential and is moving toward peace (3) History (4) Stability predictable for Algeria (5) Terrorism is costly - in lives and finances (7) Despite being free, press sometimes is silenced (8) Local bidders and foreign investors being courted (9) Despite previous problems, economic future is bright (10) Institutions (11) Director-General sees light as country comes out of tunnel (12) Housing shortage creates enormous market for homebuilders (13) Bureaucracy remains a major barrier to investment (14) Algeria is gateway to Africa (15) A country made for Tourism (16) A Rich Heritage in Arts and Crafts (17) Casbah's unique beauty to be restored (18) Algeria Facts (19) Privatization goes forward with progress, challenges (20) Country rich in resources, civilization, ambition (21) World renowned hotel carries proud past of history and wealth (22) Fight against terrorism has helped world (23) Banking reforms, foreign investment moving quickly (24) World Bank senses new optimism in Algeria (25) Algerian-American Chamber of Commerce meets to promote trade relations (26) Ministry of Labor promotes programs to reduce unemployment (27) Agriculture potential is tremendous, but investment is needed (28) Algeria adopts new programs to solve water shortages (29) Wine growing provides export income (30) Petroleum companies aware of potential says Sonatrach CEO (31) About Sonatrach (32) Bright future ahead for oil industry (33) Huge oil resources will last for many years (34) The place of small industry in the economy (35) Country's first Bourse to open soon (36) ONAB encourages investors to grasp potential in Algeria (37) The El-Aurassi Hotel plans to go public (38) Enad hopes to partner with leading detergent producers (39) ENGG strives to improve refining system and attract foreign investment (40) Agricultural Bank plans expansion (41) Vehicle manufacturer seeks further investment |
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Algeria has tremendous
agricultural potential but this sector, as in most, needs further investment.
