Turkish company plans massive farm project in Algeria

Turkish industrial venture Özmert Algeria is planning to build Algeria’s first major integrated farm.

The 220 sq km project in the northwestern province of Naama is part of Algeria’s plan to boost food security and cut its import bill.

Özmert Algeria presented project details to authorities at a meeting in Naama.

“The project is a pioneering and integrated investment combining grain and fodder cultivation with cattle and sheep breeding. It relies on locally produced fodder within the project and aims to secure meat and milk supplies for the local market,” the company said, without mentioning the size of the investment.

The farm is part of a government plan to develop the livestock sector in Algeria. It will house at least 19,000 cattle and sheep, with annual production targets of 3,500 tonnes of meat and 30 million litres of milk.

Founded in 2007, Özmert Algeria has large investments in Algeria covering mining, steel production, concrete and other industries.

Algeria’s food import bill has stood at around $10 billion annually over the past five years, more than a quarter of its total import costs, official figures show.

The disclosure by Özmert Algeria follows the launch last month of phase two of one of the world’s largest farming projects in Algeria by Qatar’s Baladna at a cost of nearly $3.5 billion.

The project will eventually house 270,000 head of cattle and produce 1.7 billion litres of milk per year.

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