Algeria, aiming to secure its food sovereignty, is multiplying initiatives to achieve this milestone, particularly by expanding land parcels designated for agricultural investment. A total of 80,000 hectares will be allocated to investors for the upcoming farming season, announced the Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development, and Fisheries, Yacine El-Mahdi Oualid, during a visit to the Ouargla province, which is set to play a pivotal role in bolstering national food security.
Speaking on the sidelines of launching the current season’s harvesting and threshing campaign, the minister confirmed plans to open up this eighty-thousand-hectare area to investors, pending the completion of new infrastructure linked to agricultural electrification. This expansion follows a season where cultivated land surpassed 9,000 hectares in the region.
Discussing agriculture in the country’s southern regions, specifically within the Ouargla province, the minister noted that the district has been equipped with nine grain storage centers boasting a combined capacity of 450,000 quintals (50,000 quintals per facility). Additionally, the construction of a massive grain silo with a one-million-quintal capacity is underway, representing a substantial strategic reserve for a single province.
According to the minister, this southern territory is experiencing a strong surge in strategic crop cultivation, driven by reforms introduced by President Abdelmadjid Tebboune in recent years. He highlighted major advancements in land allocation, agricultural grid connection, and the creation of rural access roads.
El-Mahdi Oualid further specified that state efforts to back the agricultural sector are poised to transform Ouargla into a major asset for national food independence. He commended the active participation of numerous investors in this strategy, which has yielded significantly higher outputs compared to the previous farming cycle.
Data presented to the ministerial delegation indicates that two major power grid connection operations are underway in the agricultural zones of Hassi-Lehdaou South and North, Gassi-Touil, Rebaï, and Sahn 1 and 2.
The first phase, costing three billion dinars, involves deploying 425 kilometers of electrical grids and installing 233 transformers. Meanwhile, the second phase, backed by a two-billion-dinar budget and currently clearing administrative hurdles, includes setting up 420 kilometers of power lines and 195 transformers.
46.6 Billion DA Allocated for Southern Farm Electrification
“We observed today the progress of the electrification program across strategic farming zones in the South—a structural blueprint that will unlock fresh avenues for agricultural investment and production, notably in high-value strategic crops,” the minister stated. He added that this nationwide initiative spans 15 southern provinces with a total financial commitment exceeding 46.6 billion Algerian dinars.
This represents a massive investment injected by public authorities into these vast regions. It will allow the connection of thousands of farms to the power grid across 3,122 kilometers of network infrastructure, benefiting 3,540 operators, the minister emphasized. Furthermore, a steady increase in both beneficiaries and grid mileage is projected as new projects expand, according to Oualid, who maintained that this program embodies the President’s vision to establish the Algerian South as a core pillar of national food security.