NATIONAL WORKSHOP ON THE ENHANCEMENT

OF FOREST AND FISHERIES RESOURCES

The fourth national workshop in Algeria was held on 22 and 23 February 2017 in Algiers on the theme "Preservation and enhancement of forest and fisheries resources". This event was co-organised and conducted by the ENPARD South support program team and the General Directorate of Forests (DGF) and Fisheries (DGP) within the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Fisheries.

The objectives of the workshop were to review the current status of forest and fisheries resources in Algeria, to identify and capitalise on the projects and policies implemented in the country, to discuss the support mechanisms used to protect and manage efficiently these resources and finally to select priority target areas for implementation and propose operational recommendations.

For each of the two resources analysed and discussed, the participants identified the major constraints to the enhancement of the products and the existing opportunities and, secondly, elaborate proposals to improve the management and the optimal use of these resources.

Enhancement of forest ressources

The major constraints identified for the enhancement of forest products, with the help of the DGF, are:

Outdated or non-existent management and operating plans;

Insufficient regulation for the exploitation of resources;

Lack of awareness of the value of these products and/or possible opportunities;

The absence of reliable statistics for the analysis of value chains.

However, according to workshop participants, forest products have a real development potential at the national level and there are effective opportunities:

A broad sector with four subsectors identified to develop: wood, cork, aromatic and medicinal plants, carob;

A private sector that is highly dynamic and interested in participating in the exploitation of these resources: operating agreements of aromatic and medicinal plants, development of the eucalyptus exploitation;

A real Algerian know-how in this sector (oils, coal, carob ...);

The existence of incentives or aid in the framework of the rural territories development (ANSEJ, CNAC, etc.).

In order to improve the enhancement of forest products, the following recommendations were released by the sector's stakeholders:

Make an inventory of the existing potentialities as well as possible values by species and by Wilaya and communicate/increase awareness on these products, their uses and interest;
Establish a structure to support the certification of forest products at the national level;
Identify the various stakeholders of the sector and the actors on the ground;
Revise the legal framework in order to allow stakeholders to enhance these resources, to meet market demands while protecting these resources;
Prioritize the development and organisation of cork and aromatic and medicinal plants sectors:

Provision of production specification, popularisation of the processes of exploitation and transformation …

Promotion of economic interest groups or joint-interest organisations,

Promotion of the contractual form in order to improve the continuity of the supply and the producers’ visibility.

Enhancement of fisheries resources

The major constraints and weaknesses identified in the fishing sector in Algeria, with the help of the DGP, are:

The scarcity of resources leading to a decrease in production and in the number of producers;

The processing of fishery products is inadequate and production is not very diversified, in particular due to lack of storage and distribution capacities;

The increase in the price of raw material and consequently of the products processed from this material;

High taxes on imports of raw materials for processing;

Weak research/development activities on the processing of fishery products.

These factors include a massive importation of cheaper processed seafood than those produced locally.

While the development of the fisheries sector is limited by many constraints, fishery products have a real development potential at the national level and a number of opportunities exist:

A strong and increased national demand for fresh fishery products, but also in the neighbouring countries and more globally on the world market;

An opportunity to develop many small threading/freezing industries with relatively small individual investments;

Strong development potential for the processing industry:

An opportunity to develop the use of fishery "co-products" with a wide range of possible by-products and potential broad applications;

A rich and still underexploited algal biodiversity;

A thriving ecosystem with different Algerian aquaculture species still underexploited.

The various themes discussed are taken into account in the “Aquapêche 2020” strategy. However, the sector stakeholders have raised various points that they regarded as priorities and which require particular attention:

Initiate a broad program to strengthen and diversify aquaculture production;
Ensure the preservation of resources and their sustainable exploitation;
Improve the organisation, regulation of production, distribution and supply of the domestic market (such as tidal markets);
Strengthen the statistical system as well as the production and enhancement of key information (resources, costs, prices, etc.);
Reinforce the links between research and the private sector through enhanced extension system and the promotion of applied research;
Promote exports by adapting the legal framework (duration of accreditations, money transfer arrangements for exporters, etc.) and by supporting exporters in the application of quality approaches and EU directives;
Strengthen intersectoral cooperation and synergies, particularly at ministerial level, in order to clarify the situation for producers/exporters.

The discussions, recommendations and actions advocated by participants to support the preservation and enhancement of forest and fisheries resources will be used to fuel Algeria's national strategic reflection and to support the Ministry in the formulation of its new policies.