Sugar Beet Cultivation in Algeria

Sugar beet cultivation had been present in Algeria since the 1940s in the wilaya of Sidi Bel Abbes (Commune of Sfisef in the west of the country), where a sugar production unit was established and then abandoned in 1980.

The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development has drawn up a roadmap including farmers, industrialists active in the processing of agricultural products, technicians from agronomy research centers and institutes, and executives from the agricultural directorates of the wilayas concerned.

The project to develop sugar beet cultivation in Algeria was carried out in order to reduce the country’s sugar import bill and allow the creation of a new production, processing, and marketing sector.

At the end of this plan, it is expected the planting 150,000 HA of sugar beet of different varieties and a national production of 30% of the quantity of imported sugar whose bill amounts to 1 billion dollars per year.

In order to inform and sensitize farmers in the South East region (Oued Souf) to join and take part in this program, the Technical Institute for the Development of Saharan Agriculture (ITDAS) in Biskra recently organized open days to promote the cultivation of sugar beet, to highlight the results of the trials carried out by its technicians-agronomists and to motivate farmers to invest in this new niche with strong potential and advantages.

The results obtained on experimental plots and on 03 varieties of sugar beet (MOHICAN, BERNACHE, and TURBATA) are very significant and encouraging.

By 2024, it is expected to plant 1,200,000 HA of sugar beet in Adrar, Ouargla, El Oued and Ghardaïa to produce around 1,800,000 tonnes of sugar, molasses and ethanol. This plan provides for the wilaya of Biskra 300,000 HA which will be devoted to the cultivation of sugar beet.