(Bloomberg) -- Algeria and Italian firm Bonifiche Ferraresi SpA made a €420 million ($455 million) deal to develop an agricultural project, as the North African nation looks to boost food security.
Under the plan, due to begin this year and announced Saturday at a signing ceremony in Algiers, 36,000 hectares in the south-central Algerian state of Timimoune will be allocated for the production of wheat, beans and other produce.
Algeria’s investment fund will provide 49% of the funding and the Italian company the remainder, the Agriculture Ministry said. The gas-rich OPEC nation, which is due to hold presidential elections in September, described the initiative as part of a broader plan to develop self-sufficiency in key crops.
Agriculture Minister Youcef Cherfa last week described plans to reclaim 500,000 hectares in Algeria’s south over the next three years. The attempt to increase grain-farming areas by 18% would be in concert with international institutions and Italian and Qatari firms, he said.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in January unveiled an investment plan worth more than €5.5 billion to strengthen her country’s relations in Africa — a bid to boost energy ties and curb migration flows.
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