Presentation by Dr. Omar Zeghouane (INRA, Algeria) at Wheat for Food Security in Africa conference, Oct 9, 2012, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

1. Algérian Democratique and Popular Républic
Ministry of Agriculture & Rural Development
Wheat for Food Security in Africa
October 8 – 12, 2012, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Current state and trends of
wheat production in Algeria
By Zeghouane. O & Benbelkacem.A

2. • Total area is 2.38 millions Km²
(2 millions of desert)
• 3.4 % is arable land, less than
one-fifth is cultivated though
only about 8.6 million hectares,
or 3.5% of its total area is used
for agricultural production.
• Most agricultural activities are
in the north of the country.
The dominant crops are cereals,
forages, food legumes and
potatoes.

3. There are five agro-ecological
zones:
• Sahel-type area along the
Mediterranean coast;
• Sub-littoral plains;
• Interior plains;
• High plateaus and the steppe
region;
• Sahara desert, with oases.
Climate is :
• Mediterranean type all over the north part of the
country (hot summers and mild humid winters),
• Semi-arid on the high plateaus
• Desertic once we overpass the saharian atlas.

4. Cereals are the predominant
crops grown by Algerian
farmers, covering annually 3 to
3.5 million hectares, nearly 40%
of Algeria’s total agricultural
land and 2.5 million as fallow.
Irrigated cereals cover about
245,000 hectares.
Algeria is one of the world’s leading importers and
consumers of cereals (220 kg per capita per year) which
is used for making couscous, pasta, local bread.
Bread wheat is largely used for bread (baguette) and for
cookies.

5. Cereal production
Cropping Production Wheat Mean yield
season (t) rate (%)
evolution
2001/2002 1 951 410 77
2002/2003 4 264 374 70
2000/01 = 1,2 t/ha
2003/2004 4 031 300 68
2008/09 = 1,7 t/ha
2004/2005 3 525 046 69
2011/12 = 2,0 t/ha
2005/2006 4 012 810 67
2006/2007 3 597 858 65
2007/2008 1 533 614 75
2001/2008 3 196 743 71
2008/2009 6 120 000 56
2009/2010 4 807 200 65
2010/2011 4 245 700 69
2011/2012 5 134 006 74
2009/2012 5 076 726 61

6. Pick yields(t/ha)
Wilaya Species Average yield Pick yields
Aïn-Defla Durum 2,8 8
Relizane Blé dur 1,7 7,3
El-Tarf Bread wheat 2,7 6,8
El-Tarf Durum 2,2 6,5
Guelma Durum 2,5 6,5
Bouira Durum 2,2 6,0
Skikda Durum 2,0 6,0
S. Bel Abbés Durum 1,6 5,8
A. Temouchent Durum 1,8 5,8

7. Breeding activities
The Algerian wheat program has a close bilateral
relationship with the joint CIMMYT/ICARDA.
As a result, most of the released varieties until the mid
90’s were derived from CIMMYT/ICARDA germplasm.
Since 1995, the germplasm movement to Algeria has
slowed down, reflecting the improved capacity of the
national breeding program through human resource
development efforts.

8. Constraints to wheat production
Semi arid environments is predominating with 43% of total
cereal acreage.
Yields are low due to several
abiotic and biotic stresses.
- Scarcity and poor quality of
underground water resources,
- low and erratic rainfall,
- drought recurrence,
- high and low temperatures and
salinity are the key constraints
to agricultural production.

9. Technical constraints such as non
respect of technical itinerary:
• Abusing use of disc harrow and
bad seedbed preparation,
• Hand sowing or misuse of seed
drill and use of low quality seed
• Low application of fertilizers and
weed control.
• machinery adjustment, harvest
losses are also causing problems.

10. New material selected during the yellow
rust epidemic of 2004 has shown a real
potential of resistance. Out of this, four
new cultivars (Tiddis, Boumerzoug,
Akhamokh and Massine) have been
released (2010-2011) and are being
dispatched to high performing
farmers for seed increase.
With the collaboration with the
CIMMYT/ICARDA we are releasing a new
wheat cultivar (Yacine) with high
resistance to Ug99 (2011).

11. Seed production program objectives
• Improve the rate of certified seed use
• Constitution of stocks
• Introduction of the new varieties
 Seed availability :
 2012 : 200 000 tons
 2013 : 300 000 tons
 2014 : 400 000 tons
 Stock s : 20%.

12. Cereal varieties produced by farmers
Species Number of
varieties
Durum wheat 19
Bread wheat 10
Barley 6
Oat 5
Triticale 1
Total 41

13. Main agricultural policies
Algeria has actually a very
favorable macro-economic
financial situation due
mainly to the application of
the structural adjustment
program of the government
that permitted a
resettlement of the large
economic equilibrium in a
short and medium term.

14. Main agricultural policies
• The national plan of agricultural development (PNDA) started
ten years ago by a plan in favor of cereal intensification using
most appropriate farming systems in the favorable areas of
northern Algeria. A battery of assistance means to farmers was
allowed to improve production levels and reduce fallow fields.
• Several mechanisms were adopted by stakeholders as policies
called the policy of the renewal agricultural & rural (PRAR) to
put in concrete form measures such as: Different credits with
no interest, loans, subsidies, acquiring machinery with ease,
irrigation equipments, technical and financial supports,
insurance of a minimum price, bonus for seed growers,
adoption of an appropriate technical itinerary…

15. Future plans for wheat production
Maintain assistance to farmers by allowing subsidies (credits,
loans, leasing …),
Assist them with a good technical itinerary with all required
inputs.
Develop irrigation (an objective of 1 Million hectares for
2014).
Modernizing machinery.
Use an efficient transfer of technology and above all focus
more on human resource development (capacity building).

16. Thank you for
your attention