TINDOUF-Prime Minister Abdelaziz Djerad on Tuesday advocated exploitation of solar energy to boost investment in desert farming as a “national project.”
As part of his working and inspection visit to the province of Tindouf, Djerad went to a farm reserved for argan trees where he followed a presentation on the programme to strengthen the connection of farms to electricity grids under the development of agriculture.
The PM said that solar energy must be further exploited to boost investment in agriculture. Djerad also urged agriculture officials to ensure the connection of all projects to electricity under the instructions given by the president of the Republic during the last Council of ministers meeting to connect industrials areas and farms to this grid.
“Implementing projects without connecting them to electricity is inconceivable. Desert farming is a national project that must come into fruition as soon as possible because it can boost development and create jobs,” said Djerad.
The PM recalled that the creation of a ministry in charge of developing renewable energy under the last ministerial reshuffle.
The Government will be taken measures to facilitate the purchase of solar panels and Algeria has factories that produce this equipment, he continued. The PM called for the integration of universities and laboratories into the programme to develop desert farming and the use of renewable energy with a view to reducing the import bill and foreign currency transfers.
Djerad listened to the concerns raised by farmers, notably the unfreezing of deep-well drilling activities capable of boosting agriculture, and assured them of “a political willingness to support private projects in the country’s South.”
The PM, who advocated fighting bureaucracy and encouraging investors in industrial and agricultural companies, stated that the State provided farmers with all the means “on condition that they comply with a moral contract between the two sides.” APS – 30 June 2020