Qatar and Algeria launch phase two of $3.5bn farm project

Qatar and Algeria have launched phase two of one of the world’s largest farming projects involving total investments of nearly $3.5 billion.

Baladna, Qatar’s largest farming company, signed the agreement with Algerian officials in the capital Algiers on Thursday, the Algerian state news agency reported.

Phase two involves investment of about $635 million in cattle breeding and farmland for the production of powdered milk in the southwestern Algerian Adrar province.

The report said phase two of the four-stage project includes building an air link with nine US states to ship 30,000 heads of cattle during a period of 10 months.

“The second package of the contract will pave the way for the formation of the herd, starting civil works, completing a concrete plant, accommodation service facilities, as well as launching a dairy cow import programme,” the report said.

Baladna controls 51 percent of the powdered milk project which was launched in 2025. The rest is owned by Algeria’s state-owned national investment fund.

Citing a report by Baladna, Qatar’s Al Jazeera news agency said in December that the project would be fully commissioned within nine years and involves investment of about $3.5 billion, adding that it will produce powdered milk, fodder and meat.

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The project spans more than one million square metres and will eventually have 270,000 heads of cattle and produce 1.7 billion litres of milk per year.

Qatar maintains strong political and economic links with Algeria and is a key investor in the North African country, mainly in the energy sector.

State-owned Qatar Energy was last year among the winners of oil site concessions offered by Algeria.