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The new era announced for the agricultural sector, which is based on science and innovation, is seen as a “new agrarian revolution”. The dynamic initiated by the sector must be supported in order to achieve the objective of guaranteeing food security and meeting the challenges imposed by climate change.
“It is a new agrarian revolution which is coming with the change in mentalities and structures,” indicated the president of the Chamber of Agriculture of the wilaya of Algiers, Brahim Djeribia, welcoming the recent initiatives of the Ministry of Agriculture, marked by the holding, the last two days, of the National Conference on the modernization of agriculture, as well as the installation of the National Scientific Council for Food Security.
According to the president of the Chamber of Agriculture of Algiers, it is necessary to move to a higher level, especially since there is no shortage of potential. “The country has great natural potential and also a qualified human resource,” he said, emphasizing the need to capitalize on these achievements.
Agriculture today must not remain “archaic” and be limited to “practices from another time”. This is possible with the introduction of new technologies and the increased reliance on science, which is no longer a choice but a necessity. Mr. Djeribia, in this sense, welcomed the installation of the Scientific Council for Food Safety, made up of specialists who represent different sectors. The use of new technologies is also essential, according to the president of the Chamber of Agriculture, citing the importance of the use of drones for the management of large agricultural areas, which will also make it possible to identify diseases and act accordingly. According to him, we cannot meet the challenge of feeding 65 million inhabitants without resorting to science and innovation.
In addition to focusing agriculture on research and innovation, it is also essential to involve professionals in the sector, i.e. farmers, in this new approach, recommended this manager, highlighting the “great experience” that the latter have.
The challenge today is above all, he added, to take into consideration climate change, characterized in particular by extreme temperatures. A situation which requires, he said, the revision of agricultural cartography which dates from “the 1930s” but also to opt for crops which adapt to drought for example.
Djeribia, who highlighted the good results obtained by the agricultural sector, with a contribution of 15% to GDP as well as significant production, thus underlined the need to support this “established dynamic”.
In this sense, he mentioned the results achieved by different sectors, like potatoes, with a production estimated at 400 quintals/hectare, but also citrus fruits with an annual production of 78 million quintals, to which an area of 80,000 hectares is devoted.
The apple sector, for its part, recorded momentum, said Mr. Djeribia, with significant production levels. “It is the fruit of the strategy of the country’s high authorities, including the ban on imports and also the support granted to operators,” said the president of the Chamber of Agriculture of the wilaya of Algiers. He nevertheless underlined the need to support farmers by developing the processing and export of surpluses in order to remedy losses.
The objective of increasing wheat yields, bringing them to 40 quintals/hectare and more and achieving self-sufficiency, is also possible, continued the same official, who underlined the large capacities, particularly in the south of the country.
Another achievement, that of no longer importing, for “more than 30 years”, wheat seed, was keen to point out this manager, who however underlined the need to do the same thing with regard to seeds for market gardening. “We are still dependent on foreigners, as is the case for several sectors. But we must work to limit our dependence,” he indicated, assuring that the “seed segment is a weapon that we must hold.”