The Secretary General of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Hamid Bensaad announced Sunday in Algiers the launch of the program to cultivate sunflower countrywide in March to reduce the import bill of this product and achieve self-sufficiency in table oil.
Speaking on the sidelines of the opening of a study day and a national seminar on “The cultivation and development process of sunflower in Algeria” organised at the National Centre for the Control and Certification of Seeds and Plants (CNCC), Bensaâd said that “the cultivation of sunflower will be launched in March as part of the support for the planting of oilseed plants”, indicating that the operation will continue until next April across the country.
In this context, the official explained that this operation was part of the implementation of the sunflower cultivation plan developed by the ministry to reduce the import bill of this product and achieve self-sufficiency in table oil.
“All the necessary conditions have been met”, he said, pointing out that “the provinces, operators and stakeholders have been defined and technicians have been called upon to ensure the success of this operation, which will be launched in the next few days”.
Sunflower cultivation “has a promising future in Algeria, especially as the plant is biferous“, he explained, recalling the experiments carried out in a number of provinces showing a good yield from this oilseed.
The Ministry “will support on-site programmes and projects focused on the cultivation of oil plants, and will provide all the means and conditions to make this crop a success,” Bensaâd said.
