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Algeria Announces $1 Billion for African Development

Algerian Prime Minister Aimene Benabderrahmane at the annual African Union summit of leaders in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa. - AFP
Algerian Prime Minister Aimene Benabderrahmane at the annual African Union summit of leaders in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa. - AFP
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Algeria Announces $1 Billion for African Development

Algerian Prime Minister Aimene Benabderrahmane at the annual African Union summit of leaders in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa. - AFP
Algerian Prime Minister Aimene Benabderrahmane at the annual African Union summit of leaders in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa. - AFP

Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune said Sunday the North African nation will allocate a billion dollars to finance development projects across the continent through the Algerian Agency of International Cooperation for Solidarity and Development.

The official APS news agency said his decision was announced in a speech read by Prime Minister Aimene Benabderrahmane at the annual African Union summit of leaders in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.

"I have decided to inject one billion US dollars for the benefit of the Algerian Agency of International Cooperation for Solidarity and Development to finance development projects in African countries," read the speech, part of which was published by APS.

It said attention would be paid to "integration projects or those able to contribute to accelerating development in Africa".

Tebboune said the agency's approach was based on Algeria's conviction that "security and stability in Africa are linked to development".

APS said the government agency, established in 2020, would coordinate with African nations seeking to benefit from the initiative.

Most of the sessions at the two-day 36th annual AU summit are being held behind closed doors.

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Egypt Targets 10 mln Ton Wheat Harvest

A farmer shows wheat plants at a field in Al Fayoum Governorate, southwest of Cairo, Egypt March 21, 2024. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany/File Photo
A farmer shows wheat plants at a field in Al Fayoum Governorate, southwest of Cairo, Egypt March 21, 2024. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany/File Photo
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Egypt Targets 10 mln Ton Wheat Harvest

A farmer shows wheat plants at a field in Al Fayoum Governorate, southwest of Cairo, Egypt March 21, 2024. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany/File Photo
A farmer shows wheat plants at a field in Al Fayoum Governorate, southwest of Cairo, Egypt March 21, 2024. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany/File Photo

Egypt expects to harvest 10 million tonnes of wheat this year, up from 9 million in 2023, driven by improved crop yields and ambitious land reclamation efforts, Agriculture Minister Alaa Farouk told Reuters late on Wednesday.

He said 3.1175 million feddans (about 1.30 million hectares) have been cultivated this season — slightly lower than the 3.5 million feddans announced earlier by the planning ministry and 3.2 million feddans in 2024 (1.34 million hectares), suggesting a possible decline in total wheat area.

Farmers have told Reuters that wheat has become less profitable compared to crops like beet, whose area increased from 500,000 feddans (210,000 hectares) to 700,000 feddans (294,000 hectares) this year.

The government plans to buy 4-5 million tonnes of local wheat and import about 6 million tonnes to provide heavily subsidised bread for over 69 million Egyptians.

Farouk said newer high-yield wheat strains developed by the Agricultural Research Center have raised productivity by 7-8.5%.

"This is vertical expansion, and horizontal expansion is coming," he said.

That horizontal expansion is led by the Mostakbal Misr for Sustainable Development, which plans to reclaim 4 million feddans across the country.

Farouk said some of that land is ready for production and the rest will follow in the next two years, offering major opportunities for agricultural investment.

Mostakbal Misr, recently tasked with wheat imports, is also developing infrastructure and growing crops tailored to local consumption, exports and agri-processing, Farouk said..

Farouk added the government is studying a potential rise in local fertilizer prices. Urea and nitrate fertilizers cost around 9,500 Egyptian pounds ($185) per tonne to produce but are sold at a subsidized 4,500 ($87.63). Export prices reach up to 20,000 pounds ($389.48), Farouk said.