Chinese Government provides grant for Phase 1 of Saline Farmland Improvement Project (Linked to Record ID#53202)

On November 12, 2009 and December 28, 2009, the Chinese Ambassador to Algeria and Secretary-General of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Algeria signed an exchange of letters, which committed grant funding for Phase 1 of the Saline Farmland Improvement Project. The face value of the grant commitment that supported this project is unknown.

However, it is known that China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) funded the project.

The purpose of the project was to dispatch Chinese agricultural experts over a three year period to (a) the central laboratory of the National Institute of Agronomic Research of Algeria (Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique d'Algérie or INRA or المعهد الوطني الجزائري للبحث الزراعي) in the capital city of Algiers, and (b) an INRAA experimental station in the town of Hmadna (El Hamadna or الحمادنة) within the wilaya of Relizane.

On December 19, 2011, Lu Yifeng, on behalf of China Agricultural Development Group signed a project implementation contract with the Algerian Academy of Agricultural Sciences.

The contract specified that China Agricultural Development Group would provide laboratory equipment, agricultural machinery, and agricultural experts to Algeria.

Then, on March 24, 2014, a project site inspection ceremony was held at the NRAA experimental station in the town of Hmadna. The project, which formally concluded on September 26, 2014, project achieved four sets of results. First, it conducted an investigation and trial of desalination techniques over three seasons.

Soil quality improved in the second season after treatment.

Second, the project supplied farm machinery to a research site to equip it with proper agricultural research instruments. As of March 2014 the machinery and lab instruments had been installed and put to use. Algerians were also trained on the use of the equipment. Third, installed greenhouses at the NRAA experimental station in the town of Hmadna.

Fourth, two batches of 30 Algerian personnel were invited to China to receive training in soil inspection techniques. The Chinese Government also funded Phase 2 of this project (captured in Record ID#53202).