In September 2025, the ABBC led a pioneering delegation into Algeria, Africa’s largest nation, to connect with government, farmers, and investors shaping the country’s agricultural future.
The ABBC, in collaboration with the British Embassy in Algiers and the UK Department for Business and Trade, showed what is possible: doors opened, relationships forged, opportunities made visible. For UK agritech companies – and for the wider supply chain – the message is clear:
Algeria is ready, and now is the time to engage.
Coming from Britain, as you step out of the Toyota A/C onto the crimson-gold Saharan sand under aqua skies, strange things happen to the brain. Agoraphobia, thirst, survival, mortality – all seem immediate. “Surely,” you think, “I must be no more than a mile and half from the surface of the
sun.”
As an Algerian with a family history of running camel caravans, Mr. Hadjadj was born to this climate. But in 1991, even he saw only endless red horizons. When he drilled down 250 meters and struck water, he took the courageous. some said mad, step of creating a commercial farm.
He may as well have been on the rocky sandy surface of Mars but with fresh water from the North-Western Sahara Aquifer System (NWSAS) he could dream. Now, at ninety-four, he commands 10,000 hectares with 30 pivots, growing corn and wheat for livestock feed. Date palms, fruits, vegetables, livestock and a dedicated team of warrior farmers all contribute to feeding Algeria”s 48 million people.
Politically, the Algerian government has made agriculture a top priority. Oil and gas still provide 25–30% of GDP and 90% of exports, while agriculture contributes 13% of GDP and only 1% of exports. But under ambitious plans, the government wants agriculture to reach 18–20% of GDP and 5–10% of exports by 2050, with food security the first goal.
Brazil”s agricultural exports rose from USD $13 billion in 2000 to over $150 billion in 2024, driven by soy, grains, and meat. Algeria sees a similar path, with Europe as a ready market. The UK is just beyond France, linked by the Straits of Gibraltar and the ancient superhighway of the Mediterranean.
Beneath dunes and plateaus around El Menia lie deep fossil aquifers – vestiges of wetter eras. These sustain irrigated fields that flash green against the desert.
Two water worlds exist: in the north, shallow aquifers recharged by rain and springs; in the south, the vast fossil reserves of the Continental Interlayer and Complex Terminal, part of the NWSAS – one of the largest groundwater systems on Earth.
These southern reserves, stretching under Algeria, Tunisia and Libya, are immense but non-renewable. They sustain farms from El Menia to Ouargla, where boreholes plunge hundreds of meters to irrigate cereals, vegetables, fruits, and forage. Groundwater supports 62% of Algeria’s irrigated land – a lifeline, but one that cannot be replaced once drained.
Subsidized pumping and patchy monitoring threaten sustainability. Yet advanced agritech – sensors, satellites, geology and agronomy – can help manage the future. It was clear to the ABBC delegation that British expertise has a role to play.
For centuries, farmers built foggaras – hand-dug tunnels and canals – to draw shallow aquifer water.
These show Algeria”s long blend of ingenuity and caution with water.
Today in the south, the government offers pioneers land, bore water and financial support. Pivot farming drives this shift: wells up to 400 meters deep can yield 40–110 liters per second, sometimes artesian but usually pumped. Water feeds vast centre-pivot systems whose sweeping arms distribute it, along with nutrients and sprays. Expansion of the power grid enables growth, while solar — abundant but sand-plagued — remains a maintenance challenge.
Following Mr. Hadjadj’s lead, multiple mega projects of 10,000 hectares or more now operate. For comparison, Elveden Estate in England — often cited as Britain”s largest ring-fenced arable farm —is just over 9,000 hectares. Algeria”s ambition is clear.
Among the most ambitious is the Baladna-Algeria dairy and arable complex in Adrar: 170,000 hectares, 270,000 cows, and a goal to supply half of Algeria”s milk powder. Construction begins early 2026, with first output in late 2027. At capacity, the plant will produce 100,000 tonnes of milk
powder a year.
Beyond Baladna, the government has allocated more than 500,000 hectares in southern willayas to private agribusiness under incentive schemes.
The ABBC delegation – including DPD, Lacuna Space,Cogent breeding UK,Anpario,UKTAG, Airponix- saw firsthand Algeria”s agricultural drive, and the points where UK expertise could make a difference.
Central and southern Algeria now have 1 million hectares under cultivation, with plans to triple this to 3 million by 2028. With its scale and reserves, Algeria aims to lead North Africa’s transformation. If desert zones can be tapped sustainably, it could become a food-exporting powerhouse — the !garden of the southern Mediterranean” — supplying fruit, vegetables, dairy and pulses to Europe.
For the UK, facing food-security pressures and post-Brexit trade shifts, Algeria is a strong prospect. British importers could source citrus, tomatoes, off-season vegetables and dairy inputs, with faster, cheaper shipping than Latin America. The Madar Fund is investing in logistics, and the ABBC is
well placed to connect UK expertise with Algerian ambition.
Challenges remain: aquifer stress, climate change, transport bottlenecks, regulatory hurdles, and
global instability all threaten mega projects if not carefully managed.
The camels wandering Mr. Hadjadj land aren”t just livestock, they descend from the animals his ancestors once used to carry goods across the Sahara. He keeps them not for profit, but for memory – living reminders of a lineage that once defined the logistics of a whole region.
Later, over a dinner entirely harvested from his land – sun-warmed dates, just-picked vegetables, meat seasoned with desert herbs – he held court with stories of the Revolution and the unrelenting challenge of carving life from sand.
At one point, he gestured toward the youngest at the table. The children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews. With a quiet force that needed no explanation, he offered a single word. Not boastful, but defiant. A reminder. A provocation:
“Legacy.”
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