Algeria’s Agriculture

A typology of irrigated farms as a tool for sustainable agricultural development in irrigation schemes

“…Indeed, since Algeria's independence, several reforms have been undertaken to improve the performance of irrigation schemes. However, the primary objective of the various policies was to achieve macroeconomic balance; as a result, these policies were limited and failed to promote sustainability (CNES, 2000; Aghrout and Bougherira, 2004). In fact, the agricultural irrigation policies were characterized by a global, centralized and standardized approach associated with a proliferation of documents and regulations that lacked continuity and efficiency.…”

“…After nationalizing the Algerian oil industry in the 1970s, the government launched the agrarian revolution with another policy called “agrarian reform cooperatives”. This policy was applied to expropriate large private holdings held in absentia and to redistribute the land to poor and landless peasants (Aghrout and Bougherira, 2004). All means of production, investments and equipment were oriented to the “socialist sector” under the agrarian revolution, while the private sector continued to be marginalized (Bourdenane, 1991).…”

“…The reform granted access to property and merged the self‐managed farm units and the agrarian reformed cooperatives into a single state sector called the socialist agricultural states. The goal was to set up economically viable and easily manageable production units (Aghrout and Bougherira, 2004). These operations were accompanied by supportive measures such as decreased control of the marketing network, increased producer prices, the provision of credit to both state and private sectors, and access to subsidized capital (Aghrout and Bougherira, 2004).…”

“…The goal was to set up economically viable and easily manageable production units (Aghrout and Bougherira, 2004). These operations were accompanied by supportive measures such as decreased control of the marketing network, increased producer prices, the provision of credit to both state and private sectors, and access to subsidized capital (Aghrout and Bougherira, 2004). Meanwhile, greater resources were allocated for irrigation (Cleaver, 1982) by launching a national hydraulic plan in the 1980s.…”

“…Following the stagnation of agricultural productivity, low levels of technical and economic efficiency in all sectors (Amara and Founou‐Tchuigoua, 1990) and the collapse of oil prices, a new radical restructuring was initiated (Aghrout and Bougherira, 2004). In 1987, the socialist agricultural states were broken into two types of farming units: collective state farms (EAC) involving at least three members and individual state farms (EAI) involving infrastructure rights (equipment, buildings, livestock, orchards, etc.…”