ECONOMY

Agriculture: Revenue from forest products nears DZD145 million

ALGIERS- The revenues generated by the sales of national forest products in 2020 neared DZD145 million, said an official at the Directorate General of Forests (DGF).

"These revenues come from wood products and non-wood forest products," Khadra Achour, deputy director of forest ecosystem goods and services, said in an interview with APS.

Achour explained that the non-wood products cover all forest products such as cork, halfah (Stipa tenacissima), disse plant, heather, tannin, carob and medicinal aromatic plants (rosemary, thyme) and wild fruits. They also include topsoil, clay, sand, stones and tuff and the wood timer.

"Besides their economic importance, these products contribute to improving the living standard rural populations and constitute a source of income for those living near forests," she said.

The Directorate General of Forests plans to optimize the income from these high value-added products by encouraging women and young people to create their own micro-enterprises, especially as the current system allows investors to launch local activities covering non-wood products, the official added.

As such, she cited the technical assistance project initiated by the DGF in partnership with the FAO to support forest micro-enterprises for the exploitation of rosemary, carob and pine pinion.

According to her, the project concerns four mainstream provinces, namely Blida for the exploitation of carob, Constantine for the pine pinion, Mostaghanem for the pine pinion and the thyme and Khenchela for the thyme.

Up to 40 micro-enterprises have been created in these pilot provinces as part of this project, she said, citing the possibility of extending this approach to valuing forest products to other provinces.