Agriculture

Although agriculture’s contribution to GDP had dipped slightly from 10% in 2012, domestic output is on the rise. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development estimates that the value of agricultural production increased five-fold over the last 15 years, from €4.65bn in 2001 to €23.81bn in 2013. The government has made it a priority to boost domestic production to reduce its ever-rising import bill and end the country’s reliance on imports of dietary staples such as cereals and milk. Government efforts to subsidise fertilisers, certified seeds, machinery and irrigation equipment have helped to modernise the sector. The presence of private agro-industry groups should further help to carry this effort onwards and increase productivity going forwards.

This chapter contains interviews with Abdelwahab Nouri, Minister of Agriculture; and Hocine Mansour Metidji, CEO, Group Metidji.