ALGIERS – Tuesday, 10 October 2023 (APS) – Algeria has placed food and water security at the heart of its strategies, in view of their impact on the country’s socio-economic development indicators, particularly on the independence of the State’s political and economic decision-making.
Since the last three years, providing the appropriate conditions for sustainable food and water security has topped the Algerian authorities’ priorities and is part of a comprehensive and prospective vision the President of the Republic Abdelmadjid Tebboune ensures to implement, placing the Algerian citizens at the heart of concerns.
This orientation has been reaffirmed on many occasions by the President of the Republic, who has endeavoured to fulfil his 54 commitments, including all citizens’ access to drinking water, through an efficient mobilization of resources and rationalization of distribution. In addition, his commitments included a plan to modernize agriculture and develop livestock and fishing to ensure food security.
In his inauguration speech, the President of the Republic had committed to building a strong, diversified and wealth-generating economy able to spare Algeria dependence on hydrocarbons. This commitment is part of the “New Algeria” approach, which also stems from an awareness of the risks posed by geopolitical mutations, climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic.
This new situation has led to food insecurity in a number of countries, even industrialized ones, particularly since the outbreak of the crisis in Ukraine, which has had an impact on grain and fertilizer supply chains between major grain producers and the rest of the world.
Today, three years after the launch of the process to build the New Algeria, the country is resolutely advancing in the development and digitization of the agricultural sector, through structural reforms such as encouraging investment, guaranteeing agricultural land and removing obstacles to financing. And the results are there, as numerous indicators show.
Indeed, the sector now contributes around one-sixth (nearly 15%) of GDP and accounts for more than a quarter of the active workforce, i.e. three (3) million workers, with agricultural output estimated at DZD 4,550 billion in 2022, compared with DZD 3,500 billion in 2021.