April 12, 2011

Algeria issues drought warning for grain areas

Several grain-growing areas in Algeria have been warned of drought on Monday (Apr 11), as the absence of rain since the start of April is stressing cereal crops.

A weekly weather update issued by the Algerian Agriculture Ministry on Monday (Apr 11) warned of water stress for cereal crops in the west and centre of the country and issued a "drought pre-alert bulletin" for the Chlef, Medea, Saida and Tlemcen provinces. Drought alerts have already been issued for the Setif and Tiaret grain regions.

Algeria is the world's seventh biggest importer of grain, with imports last year of 5.232 million tonnes, government customs data showed. Grain imports into Algeria fluctuate according to the size of its domestic harvest, which reached a record 6.1 million tonnes in 2009 but fell back to 4.56 million tonnes last year because of adverse weather.

The outlook for this year's harvest is expected to be good, but the outcome would depend on rainfall levels in April, when rain is essential for the wheat plants to mature properly, said a ministry official last month.

The ministry's weather update revealed there had been zero rainfall in all parts of the country since the start of April. The issuing of drought alerts is the signal for farmers to irrigate their crops, in coordination with local officials. However, irrigation is only available for a small fraction of the area under cereals cultivation.