Algeria ends grain imports?

In short: • The country concluded a historic deal with Italy for grain production • The deal is worth 420 million euros and will create 6,700 new jobs Algeria signed on Saturday a framework agreement with the Italian company Bonifiche Ferraresi to develop a project for the production of grains, legumes and pasta in the southern Algerian province of Timimoun, Algeria's official news agency APS reported. The scheme, which Italian authorities have called their country's biggest agricultural investment in the southern Mediterranean, covers 36,000 hectares in the Algerian countryside. Wheat, lentils and beans will be produced, among other foods, with the ambition to meet domestic consumption and increase exports of Algerian products, officials said during the agreement ceremony. The deal is worth 420 million euros ($455 million) and will lead to the creation of 6,700 jobs. Saturday's agreement is part of Algeria's strategy to expand production areas in the desert south to 500,000 ...