Echorouk | 21 October 2024Algeria-Saudi partnership: A new agricultural pole of 20.000 hectares
A new agricultural hub is expected to be embodied in an Algerian-Saudi partnership in strategic agriculture and dairy cattle on an area exceeding 20,000 hectares in the wilaya of El Menea (Southern Algeria), the local services said on Monday.
In anticipation of this important agricultural project, a meeting was held under the supervision of El Menea governor, Mokhtar Ben Malek, which included representatives of an Algerian company and a Saudi company, in the presence of a representative of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, where the two parties listened to a presentation given by the Directorate of Agricultural Services on the qualifications available in the state of El Menea in the agricultural field, the same source added.
This presentation included several aspects of the available capabilities, such as the quality of the soil and the huge water capacities, in addition to the climate suitable for growing various types of grains, vegetables, fruits and raising livestock, where an area exceeding 20.000 hectares was proposed in the agricultural environment called “Maharik Lahmar” located in the far east of the municipality of Hassi Gara, which was inspected by a delegation of investors.
In this regard, the first official in charge of the executive body confirmed that his services are doing everything in their power to support the project of creating a new agricultural hub in this recent wilaya, specializing in strategic crops and dairy cows, by ensuring all the necessary administrative and technical facilities for this purpose, to engage in the state’s efforts to achieve self-sufficiency and reduce the import bill, as explained.
For his part, the representative of the Algerian partner, Azouz Moussio, who is the manager of the company “Dutafic Algérie”, explained in a statement to “APS” that “this Algerian-Saudi investment, for which more than DZD 12 billion was allocated, will provide about 182 permanent jobs and 300 seasonal jobs, and will contribute to strengthening the agricultural production capacities in Algeria, as the partners seek to exploit more than 20,000 hectares of various strategic crops, as well as raise 2,000 dairy cows, with the possibility of expanding the area by another 8,000 hectares to ensure food security and embody the processing industry.”
Motivating Factors for the Implementation of this Future Agricultural Project
The representative of the Saudi partner, Ali Ben Ahmed Al-Musahili, confirmed that “this project is dedicated to growing wheat and raising cows, given the enormous potential available in the state of El Menea, including vast areas suitable for agriculture and fresh groundwater, in addition to the government support provided to agricultural investors, which is an important incentive in realizing this project that can be implemented in stages and over five years.”
The same speaker also expressed his admiration for the results achieved in the agricultural sector in the Wilaya of El Menea, after the field inspection that led the delegation to the private model farm of its owner Mahmoud Hadjadj, where he was informed about the dairy cows’ project and the fields of grain corn production, as well as fodder corn, and inspected the sunflower cultivation experience, and received comprehensive explanations from the Director of Agricultural Services, Mesbah Youcef.
Ali Ben Ahmed Al-Musahili praised the qualifications of the wilaya in particular and Algeria in general, including the appropriate infrastructure to encourage the investment climate and the availability of banks that facilitate financial transfers.
In the same context, he stressed that the Saudi partner will provide all the advanced technological capabilities to make this project succeed in strategic agriculture, and “rise to the challenge”, especially since desert agriculture in Algeria has achieved impressive and encouraging results”.
This new Algerian-Saudi agricultural investment in the wilaya of El Menea comes in light of the upward trend witnessed by foreign investments in Algeria. This confirms the effectiveness of the law related to investment, which includes several incentives and guarantees granted to foreign investors in Algeria, and its response to their aspirations in various fields, especially major strategic agriculture in the south, as indicated.
