Algerian wheat project success. (Crops)

ALGERIAN WHEAT PROJECT SUCCESS

The Sahara Desert does not breed ideal farming conditions. Summer temperatures reach as high as 57[degrees]C. Rainfall totals a meager 40 mm annually. And winds of up to 120 km per hour reshape the sands on a daily basis. No familiar desert plants, including cacti, survive the beating.

But, the Algerian government, with the assistance of international agricultural land developer Western Agri-Management International, S.A., a subsidiary of Western Agri-Management Company of Fort Collins, Colorado, U.S.A., has been fighting a good battle against the elements with a successful pilot irrigation project. As agreed upon, the project was turned over to the government after its second year. Now in its third year, it is still defying the odds by delivering a healthy wheat crop in the Sahara.

This is especially important considering Algeria relies on wheat as a major food source, yet is forced to import nearly twice as much of the grain annually as it produces.

According to Michel Rogge, president of Western …