President Tebboune orders farm reforms and a dry pulses office

President Abdelmadjid Tebboune ordered a new dry pulses office and a new plan for local farm organisation at a Council of Ministers meeting.

The meeting studied the state and future of farming, rural development and sea fishing, Awras reported.

The new plan will bring more transparency to local farm organisation, with more accurate and modern statistics.

The President also asked the Minister of Agriculture to prepare a plan for a junior minister for sea fishing and a state secretary for forests.

Offices and statistics

He also ordered a statistics department to cover all activities and jobs linked to the sector.

The department will improve the tracking of production and supply. It will also reduce delays in getting goods to the national market, especially those used widely.

The President also ordered members of government to add their ministries' statistics to the national digital platform of the High Commission for Digitalisation. This will strengthen coordination and update official data.

He also ordered that fraud be fought at every stage of farm activity, from production to distribution and supply. He ordered a review of the companies under the sector and of how useful their roles are.

Land and harvest

Preparation for the next harvest will start from November, with enough machinery in quantity and quality in all production areas.

The decision to create machinery cooperatives has now been put into effect.

The President ordered an end to leaving farmland idle or unused. He said practices that clash with the needs of modern farming must end.

He also ordered that all forms of hoarding of farm produce by farmers be fought. The state has opened the way to buy strategic crops at the best prices, he said.

The President also ordered a total ban on using maize as green fodder for animals. He said the practice had not helped meat output or met national market needs, and had caused an acute shortage of grain maize.

Ports and airports

The President ordered that the number of control laboratories at ports and airports be doubled, not kept at only two.

Priority will go to the most active ports, such as Oran, Mostaganem, Ghazaouet, Jijel and Annaba, to protect public health.

The Minister of Justice was ordered to strengthen the legal system with maximum penalties once the laboratories are created or started. The penalties will apply to anyone proven to have deliberately import or introduce goods that threaten public health through airports, ports and land borders.

The President also asked the government to mobilise its services round the clock. Each service should act in its own field to protect people's safety and health from the risks of imported goods.

The Minister of Agriculture has been asked to prepare a new report for the Council of Ministers. It should cover how far these recommendations have been implemented.

The report should also assess the effects of putting the agricultural orientation law into effect.