Madar (Algiers) - Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune has ordered a total ban on using maize as green fodder for livestock and the creation of an office dedicated to pulses, at a Council of Ministers he chaired on Sunday, 8 November 2026, devoted to a presentation on the state and prospects of the agriculture, rural development and fisheries sector, according to the council's statement published by the APS news agency.
The statement said the use of maize as green fodder had had "no positive effect" on meat production or on meeting the needs of the national market, and had instead caused a "severe shortage" of grain maize. It also called for fighting all forms of hoarding of agricultural produce by farmers, noting that the state had widely opened the way to buying strategic crops at the best prices.
According to the statement, cereals remain the responsibility of the Algerian Interprofessional Cereals Office (OAIC). The president also ordered the creation of a statistics service covering all agricultural activities and trades, to end delays in supplying the national market, particularly with widely consumed products, and a new plan to organise agriculture at local level.
On the organisational side, Tebboune instructed the agriculture minister to draw up a plan to divide tasks within the ministry, assigning fisheries to a minister-delegate and forests to a secretary of state for forests, and ordered a review of the operation and organisation of the sector's companies.
The Algerian president also ordered preparations to begin this month for the next harvest campaign, with the necessary mechanisation equipment in all production areas, a ban on leaving land fallow or unused, and a fight against all forms of fraud in the sector, from production to distribution.
Beyond agriculture, he ordered an increase in the number of inspection laboratories at ports and airports, instead of the current two, giving priority to the ports of Oran, Mostaganem, Ghazaouet, Jijel and Annaba, and instructed the justice minister to toughen the legal framework with maximum penalties for the deliberate introduction of products threatening public health.
