Reuters| 25 January 2017

A farmer harvests cauliflowers for sale at the field in Tipaza, west of Algiers, Algeria June 3, 2015. Photo: Reuters/Ramzi Boudina

An Algerian company has signed a deal with a U.S. group to set up agricultural projects worth $300 million in the North African country as it seeks to reduce dependence on imports, Algeria’s agriculture ministry said on Wednesday.

Under the deal, privately-owned Algerian dairy company Tifralait and the American International Agriculture Group (AIAG) will set up a joint venture to develop projects over an area of 25,000 hectares covering cereals, potato, fertilizers, dairy and cattle feed, the ministry said.

Algeria imports most of its agriculture-related products because of weak domestic output, but has promised to develop the farming sector as part of efforts to diversify the economy away from oil and gas after a drop in oil prices hit state finances.

It has also approved a new investment law offering incentives to foreign and local private firms willing to invest in the non-oil sector…http://www.farmlandgrab.org/post/view/26871-algerian-firm-signs-300-million-farming-deal-with-u-s-group