A new plan for the development of agricultural production, particularly cereals, extending until 2035, will be finalized soon, announced Sunday in Algiers the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mohamed Abdelhafid Henni.
“We are preparing a new plan for the immediate horizon of 2025, then 2030-2035, which will allow us to establish a real policy for the development of agriculture”, indicated Mr. Henni on the airwaves of Algerian Radio Channel III.
This plan aims, in the first place, to achieve total self-sufficiency in the production of durum wheat and barley, and to significantly increase the production of soft wheat, according to the minister.
The first person in charge of the agriculture sector noted, in this sense, that about fifty experts were mobilized to finalize this plan, with regard to cereal growing, with the objective of “totally securing the production of this sector priority”.
This objective is “achievable” in view of the availability of means, land, water resources, seeds, and a network of multipliers, explains the minister, also underlining the role of the Interprofessional Councils and the Algerian Interprofessional Office Cereals (OAIC) which has “great” experience in this area.
The Minister also assured that the sector has all the necessary capacities to increase its production of common wheat, adding that successful experiences have been carried out, including in the Great South.
“For the Saharan culture, the balance sheets are in progress, and this year we recorded a significant production of durum wheat and a production of soft wheat which is not to be neglected”, he argued, stressing that the control of the technical route remained vital to succeed in this field.
Henni said that the agricultural development plan included all the sectors, specifying that in addition to cereals, the reports relating to the milk sector, agricultural land, pulses are ready, while those concerning the white and red meat sector, and industrial crops are being prepared.
“I hope we will finish all this before the end of the month, to present it to the highest authorities of the State for validation,” he said.
Ahmed Achour