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CIHEAM Zaragoza takes part in the National Conference on the Modernisation of Agriculture in Algeria
CIHEAM > AGENDAS > CIHEAM Zaragoza takes part in the National Conference on the Modernisation of Agriculture in Algeria
  • On 27 and 28 of October, CIHEAM Zaragoza participated in the National Conference on the Modernisation of Agriculture in Algiers, contributing to the workshop on digital transformation in the agricultural sector.
  • The conference opened opportunities for collaboration with institutions in northern Africa in matters concerning agricultural digitalisation, plant breeding, animal breeding, and silvopastoral systems.

The National Conference on the Modernisation of Agriculture, organised by the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Fisheries of Algeria, brought together key institutional, scientific, and economic actors of the country as well as international experts. The conference, under the theme "For a modern, sustainable and inclusive agriculture", was presided by minister Yacine El Mahdi Oualid, and formed part of the country’s strategy to reinforce food sovereignty.

Context and challenges of Algerian agriculture

Algeria faces significant challenges in food security and agricultural sustainability. As Minister Oualid pointed out, even though the sector contributes 14.5 % to the national GDP and employs over 2.6 million people, only 8.5 million hectares - hardly 3.6% of the total surface area - are under crop production. The average cereal yield is around 18 hundredweight per hectare, much less than the 35 hundredweight reported in countries with a similar climate.

Furthermore, between 20 % and 30 % of agricultural production is lost every year due to lack of suitable storage and refrigeration facilities. Modern irrigation techniques cover only 15 % of the irrigated surface areas, and moreover the country only uses 7 % of its one hundred billion cubic metres of annual rainfall. These figures reflect the urgent need for a structural transformation of the sector to unlock Algeria’s enormous potential.

Participation of CIHEAM Zaragoza

Ramzi Belkhodja, head of Training at CIHEAM Zaragoza, participated in this significant event as part of the CIHEAM delegation together with representatives of CIHEAM Bari Bari (Mara Semeraro, manager of the scientific area and Abdelouahid Fouial, expert from the integrated resources unit); CIHEAM Montpellier (Omar Bessaoud, scientific principal administrator); and the CIHEAM General Secretariat (Yasmine Seghirate, administrator and coordinator of women and youth leadership).

CIHEAM Zaragoza’s contribution focused on the workshop on agricultural information systems and digital transformation. This session addressed the modernisation of the sector through comprehensive digitalisation, creation of technological infrastructures and improvement in agricultural data collection and use. Proposals included the creation of a state-run cloud devoted to Algerian agricultural digital services, development of geographical information systems, implementation of technologies such as RFID and IoT for livestock identification, and the digitalisation of administrative procedures.

The conference included eight thematic workshops addressing the sector’s key challenges: from production intensification and sustainable water management to institutional modernisation and market regulation. The Algerian government aims to increase cereal crop production by between 35 and 40 hundredweight per hectare in the next five years and to strengthen the foundations of food sovereignty.

Opportunities for collaboration

As a result of the workshops, participants held meetings to discuss promising ways in which CIHEAM Zaragoza can collaborate in the north African region. One promising initiative is the organisation of a seminar in Tunisia on the impact of digitalisation in agriculture, within the framework of an agreement with the National Institute of Field Crops (INGC) and the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), that will reinforce the work conducted during the conference.

Another seminar on an area of strategic interest for the development of varieties adapted to climate change is envisaged on New Breeding Techniques (NBT), in Algeria in collaboration with local research centres such as the National Institute of Agricultural Research (INRA) or the Technical Institute for Field Crops (ITGC).

They also explored the possibility of organising a joint activity on animal breeding with INRA in Algiers, following a proposal from the Office de l'Elevage et des Pâturages of Tunisia. Furthermore, ICARDA has expressed their interest in developing a line of work on silvopastoralism, a production system of special relevance for Mediterranean and semiarid Mediterranean areas.

This participation reaffirms CIHEAM Zaragoza’s commitment with sustainable agricultural development in the Mediterranean region and opens new prospects for scientific and technical collaboration with institutions from the north of Africa.