Date production rises in Algeria

Algeria prepares for the post-oil future by promoting its most famous agricultural product.

By Fidet Mansour for Magharebia in Algiers – 11/10/10

Renowned for its abundance and high quality of dates, Algeria might as well become the world's biggest date exporter. With over 12 million palm trees, the country seeks to harness its main agricultural asset to build a diversified and sustainable economy.

As part of the government efforts to promote date growing, Algérie Poste has been selling four postage stamps with a "Dates of Algeria" theme since early October. Other measures include the extension of a credit specifically designed for the agricultural sector. The RFIG credit allows date exporters to obtain interest-free loans to be repaid within 18 months.

The government also developed a new concept called "the green channel", which will provide date exporters with financial assistance related to taxes, customs and administration, as well as greater flexibility in port and airport export operations.

"We have the natural potential needed to make this country into a green paradise, but unfortunately a considerable number of families have abandoned their land because of a lack of money and support from the authorities," farmer Salah Ourad told Magharebia.

"I hope this aid will not be a passing fad, and that it will be maintained over time," he added.

On October 13th, Agriculture Minister Rachid Benaissa announced the creation of a company to promote local goods, including dates, grapes and olive products, promising to make up for the lack of support in the past.

According to agronomist Mokhtar Abdi, with millions of palm trees covering 160,000 hectares, Algeria has yet to fulfill its potential to become the largest exporter of the product worldwide. In 2009, date production reached 5,861 million quintals, and should exceed the 6 million mark this year, according to the agriculture ministry.

Statistics show record production levels in the wilaya of Biskra, with a stock of 4.1 million date palms, of which 60% (2.5 million) are of the Deglet Nour, or the "queen of dates", variety. In addition, the province boasts 550,000 palms of the soft white variety.

According to Benaissa, this rise is due to the various agricultural development programs initiated by the authorities, as well as the level of plant health monitoring and preventative treatment of various diseases which can affect date palms. There are also forecasts of good harvests in another hub of date production, El Oued, which has 1,891,382 million quintals.

With an economy entirely reliant on hydrocarbons (95% of exports), Algeria is trying to overcome its dependence on oil and diversify its economy.

"Our neighbors in Morocco and Tunisia have found ways around this obstacle, exploiting natural resources other than hydrocarbons such as tourist sites, or fruit and vegetable growing, to keep the foreign money coming in. With its far superior potential, Algeria remains stuck in a rut, barely able to face the challenges of the post-oil era," said economist Karim Ouali.

"The return to regional produce such as dates and olive oil is a major step forward, which could help support not only the agricultural sector, but promote tourism as well," he added.

Source: Magharebia.com.
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2010/11/11/feature-03.