Food Policy in Algeria: Between economic priorities and social constraints

Introduction. From its independence, the Algerian State has opted for a food policy, healthy, balanced, and accessible to all citizens, a policy carried out thanks to a very expensive food subsidy, and massive recourse to imports of basic foodstuffs. These measures have encouraged the increase in the country food dependency to the detriment of the harmonious development of the local agricultural sector, a strategic sector which should produce and guarantee the supply of the population, and meet their basic food needs. Objective. The objective of this study was to provide some objective answers on relevance and limits of food policy in Algeria, a policy that the state monopolizes and orchestrates in a difficult socioeconomic context, and which has proved to be inconsistent, and incapable of achieving the objective of food security targeted by the public authorities. Material and methods. This study was based exclusively on updated statistical, and theoretical data covering the post-independence period of the country (1962-2020). Data were collected from periodic reports and socioeconomic studies carried out by competent and credible bodies in the field. These sources concerned, in particular, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the World Bank (WB), the National Statistics Office (ONS), the National Council for Social Studies (CNES) , the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MADR), and others. These results were obtained through an operation of sampling, collecting and processing quantitative and qualitative information used in the field of quantitative and descriptive statistics. Results. The modest performances achieved in food policy in Algeria were the fruit of a policy of generalized subsidies and massive imports of basic foodstuffs (bread, milk, sugar, and vegetable oils). This ineffective policy did not achieve the objective of food self-sufficiency targeted by the public authorities; costed too dear to the public treasury and survived thanks to the oil rent; promoted the disengagement of the agricultural sector from its food mission and it failed to permanently eradicate the scourge of hunger and undernourishment. Conclusion. Food policy shows itself to be deficient in its actions and objectives. It survives on massive imports of basic foodstuffs in the absence of an effective contribution from the local agricultural sector. It remains very expensive due to the generalization of the subsidy policy. It remains fragile in the face of fluctuations in world oil prices, the main source of its financing.