“If national wheat production was ever to fall, the government has taken the adequate measures to import enough wheat to satisfy citizens’ demand,” Abdeslam Chelghoum, Algerian minister of agriculture, fishery and rural development told a press conference in Bouira, on the sidelines of the launching of a harvesting-threshing season.

According to the minister’s evaluations, Algeria will produce, for the 2015-2016 season, 1.24 million quintals of which 739,361 quintals of durum wheat and 214,043 quintals of soft wheat. The country’s grain output has slipped slightly as a result of drought and low rain in some its regions including the Bouira wilayah and the El-Asnam plateau, thus leading to lower profits.

In this regard, Abdeslam Chelghoum told APS: “35 quintals per hectare is quite low, we must work harder to boost production moreover since the El-Asnam plateau and the Bouira wilayah have the necessary resources, namely water, via three major dams, knowingly Koudiet Acerdoune, Tilesdit and Sed Lekhal in Ain Bessam”.

The minister also called investors and actors to support agricultural irrigation projects, to raise grain output and cut imports.