Agrarian reform in Algeria: The conversion of projects into action

Agrarian reform in Algeria: The conversion of projects into actionAuthor(s): Keith SuttonSource: Africa Spectrum, Vol. 9, No. 1 (1974), pp. 50-68Published by: Institute of African Affairs at GIGA, Hamburg/GermanyStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40173605 .

Accessed: 15/06/2014 12:21

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

.JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range ofcontent in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new formsof scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].

.

Institute of African Affairs at GIGA, Hamburg/Germany is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve andextend access to Africa Spectrum.

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded from 91.229.229.101 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 12:21:01 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=iaagiga

http://www.jstor.org/stable/40173605?origin=JSTOR-pdf

http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp


Agrarian reform in Algeria - The conversion of projects into action

KEITH SUTTON

For nearly a decade since Algeria's independence, the second half of the title of its Ministry of Agriculture and Agrarian Reform (M.A.R.A.) has stood out as a classic misnomer. Numerous studies of the country's agricultural development could only repeat projects and exhortations; concrete evidence of action was practically non-existent. The section on agrarian reform in Tiano's 1968 study could only report that 'L'Alg^rie n'a pas tente une teile reforme. Elle en a seulement trop parle'1. Blair's recent study of "autogestion" recognised the limited areal and social context of its effect. Thus 'it was not a System of agrarian reform or the answer to the fellah's land hunger and social Stagnation*. Despite talk and slogans the rural bour- geoisie still controlled the peasants* access to natural resources, especially crucial water and pasturage rights.2 Only since 1971 have words been translated into action and the most recent of several reform projects looks like meriting more than mere academic interest.

'The land to those who work itc as a political policy or slogan has been embodied in many projects and declarations. From 1956, the political plat- form of the Algerian Revolution, as resolved at the Soummam Conference, included agrarian reform as one of the bases of its programme. A belated French reaction to the independence movement was to create the Caisse d* Accession k la Propriete et ä l'Exploitation Rurale in 1956, to assist the redistribution of land on a wider social basis. However it only acquired 208 000 ha of which a mere 6 800 were redistributed3. The 1962 Tripoli Pro- gramme spelled out some of the details of the agrarian reform anticipated for the early years of independence. These included the following principles: 1. The immediate prohibition of transactions in land and the means of agricultural production. 2. The limitation of property according to crops and yields. 3. The expropriation of areas surpassing a fixed optimum.

1 Tiano, A.: 'Le deVeloppement e*conomique du Maghreb', Presses Universitäres de France, 1968, p. 52.

2 Blair, T.L.: 'The Land to Those Who Work It', New York, 1970, pp. 139- 145.

3 Tiano, A.: 'Le Maghreb entre les my- thes', Pressses Universitaires de France, 1967, p. 258. •

50



4. The free distribution of lands thus recuperated to landless peasants or those possessing insufficient land. 5. The democratic Organisation of peasants in production co-operatives. 6. The creation of State farms on a proportion of the expropriated lands with the participation of the workers in management and benefits. 7. The prohibition of the sale or leasing of distributed land so that a re- growth of big estates may be avoided. 8. The provision of material and financial aid from the State4.

Together with agricultural modernization and soil and forestry conservation measures, these principles of agrarian reform were to constitute the agrarian revolution of the Tripoli Programme. In large part, these principles are being followed a decade later in the current reform programme. Ini- tially, however, the Evian agreement, upon which independence was grant- ed, did not go as f ar as the Tripoli Programme. The period of exhortations and 'paper projects' began. Ben Bella declared that independence, to be meaningful, must resolve rural land problems and satisfy the needs of the peasant masses. Rene Dumont, invited by the new government in Decem- ber 1962 - January 1963 to study measures of economic recovery, advo- cated early action to eliminate share-cropping leases and absentee landlordism. Already he could observe disinvestment by large landowners, antici- pating expropriation, and so he stressed the need to clarify and give precision to the reform principles concerning property limitation.5 The first congress of the "Front de Liberation National", in 1964, embodied the agrarian reform principles of the Tripoli Programme in its Charter of Al- giers but after discussion in the National Assembly this project was with- drawn to re-emerge in modified form in 1966.6 In addition to the Opposi- tion of Algerian landed interests, the enormity and complexity of the tasks involved in an agrarian reform were being realised. There was revealed a considerable lack of knowledge about structures, practices, and motivations in the traditional sector of agriculture. In a country short of resources and especially of skilled personnel agrarian reform had to take a lower priority in national development programmes than the implementation of autogestion in the modern agricultural sector and the promotion of an industrialisation programme within which the nationalisation of the country's oil and gas industries was an essential part.

The first two years of independence, 1962 and 1963, saw the transfer- ence of 2 600 000 ha of the best agricultural land from the possession of French settlers to a System of autogestion estates, self-managed by their workers. The next four years saw considerable efforts to maintain agricultural production and commercialisation on these estates, and this involved alternating centralisation and devolution of management powers. Is-

4 Blair, T. L.: op. cit. p. 272. 5 Dumont, R,: 'Des conditions de la

re*ussite de la re*forme agraire en Alge*rie\ In: Perroux, F.: Troblemes de l'Alge*rie inde'pendente', Presses Universitaires de France, 1963, pp. 79-123.

6 Tiano, A.: op.cit. (1967), p. 259. Tidafi, T.: 'L'agriculture alge*rienne et

ses perspectives de deVeloppement', Paris, 1969, pp. 167-168.

51



nard could rightfully conclude that 'autogestion has certainly for too long monopolised the attention and the financial means at the expense of traditional agriculture such that it is urgent to modernise the latter sector in order to lessen the serious disparities which exist between the two sectorsc.7

The 1970 - 73 Four-Year Plan primarily sought development through industrialisation. Thus projected Investments in industry were to absorb 45.7% of the development funds, compared with the 16.3 °/o allocated to agriculture. In part this disparity was 'due k la limitation des capacit^s d' absorption de ce secteur d'une part, et a la nature des projets d'investisse- ments dans l'agriculture d'autre partc.8 In the event, investments have generally been 20 % higher than the Plan's forecasts, and both industry and agriculture have participated in these increased funds. By 1973 it was estimated that industry was absorbing 46.7% and agriculture 16.2% of the actual investments, 1970 - 1973.9 Thus, while the agricultural sector saw an increase in its projected investment funds, the gap between it and Al- geria's burgeoning industry remained the same.

Although widespread agrarian reform could not be given immediate priority, the need for it became increasingly apparent and more clearly documented. 'Si la Revolution agraire est avant tout une exigence de justice sociale, eile est aussi, dans les conditions actuelles de notre pays une impd- rieuse n&essite economique'.10 To take the social justice argument first; the 'Algerianisation* of the settlers' estates to form the autogestion sector had done nothing to overcome the basic maldistribution of agricultural land in the country at large. Post-independence agricultural censuses (1964 - 65) for Algeria north of the Sahara registered the following distribution11: - 16 500 holdings of above 50 ha (25 % of the land of the private sec-

tor); - 147 000 holdings of between 10 and 50 ha (50 %); - 114 000 holdings of between 5 and 10 ha (15 %); - 310 000 holdings of less than 5 ha (10 %).

An alternative authoritative estimate by Tidafi adjudged that about 650 000 peasants and share-croppers worked holdings of less than 10 ha.12 Land pressure was high on the two-thirds of the agriculturally-useful area of about 7 million ha which feil within the private sector. This had to support about 5 million people of whom nearly 1 million were of working age. So, to the 424 000 peasants with inadequate holdings of below 10 ha in size must be added about 500 000 landless peasants. Altogether this re-

7 Isnard, H.: 'Le Maghreb', Presses Universitaires de France, 1971, p. 132.

8 Walter-Nicolet, R.: 'Chronique e*conomique - Alge*rie'. In: Annuaire de PAfrique du Nord, IX, 1970, p. 434.

9 Caisse Centrale de Co-ope'ration Eco- nomique, Agence d' Alger: 'Les budgets de l'&at algeVien 1970-1973', Doc/8, Febru- ary, 1973. pp. 13-14.

10 Akkache, A.: 'La condition du d&-

veloppement e*conomique\ In: Revue Alge*- rienne du Travail, 11, 1972, p. 11.

11 Ministere de l'Agriculture et de la Re*forme Agraire: 'Structure des exploita- tions agricoles prive'es'. In: Statistique Agricole (5) June 1968, pp. 18-19.

Lucas, P.: 'Re*forme agraire en Alge*rie'. In: L'homme et la socie*te\ 27, 1973, p. 131.

12 Tidafi, T.: op. cit. pp. 131-135.

52



presents around 900 000 peasant families suffering f rom the maldistribution of agrioultural land. They were to be the theoretical beneficiaries of various projects of agrarian reform.13 In the meantime rural exodus provided the only solution, one pursued by at least 100 000 persons a year. However, as well as people, another important flow f rom country to town was taking place, that of money paid in rents to urban-based absentee landlords. Prenant has estimated that more than one fifth of the private agricultural land belonged to townsfolk from which was exacted rents equivalent to one tenth of the total agricultural production of Algeria's private sector.14 The bulk of this capital, estimated at 200 million dinars a year, would be flowing right out of the agricultural sector.15

Absenteeism and the maldistribution of holdings had been prevalent in

Algeria for a long time, if not particularly well documented. Thus the social justice arguments for agrarian reform had long been appreciated. By the late 1960's, however, new factors were emerging, economic arguments which perhaps prompted the Substitution of action for rhetoric. The Stagna- tion of the agricultural economy, relative to economic development in other sectors, posed a threat to Algeria's economic growth. Growing manu- facturing industries required increasing quantities of agricultural raw materials. The food-processing industries, for example, form one of the most rapidly growing sectors, expanding by 15 % in 1971. Generally, the inter- nal market for foodstuff s is expanding with higher urbanisation and, hope- fully, improved Standards of living. The need to maintain the balance of payments while achieving high rates of capital reinvestment plus the bor- rowing of overseas capital requires that agriculture makes a contribution through increased exports and particularly through import Substitution, as foodstuffs form 20 % of Algeria's imports. Perhaps the most important brake on industrial development is the restricted domestic market, two thirds of which is composed of rural consumers. The latter's purchasing power is extremely low, many traditional peasant families living largely outside of the modern market economy. The recent rural electrification programmes found that the poorer peasants just could not afford the ten dinars necessary to pay for the meter to be installed. Demand for goods is polarised on the two million better-off urbanised Algerians with an annual income of 4 740 million dinars which allows them to purchase 1 500 million dinars worth of industrial products. The remaining nine million or so, for the greater part rural dwellers, only have 4 440 million dinars income to dispose of, and so generate a 1 000 million dinars demand for industrial products, though in this case with a greater proportion being manufactur- ed within Algeria.16 So the traditional agricultural sector not only is failing to produce sufficient agricultural raw materials for Algeria's develop- ing industries or enough foodstuffs for its rapidly expanding population, but it is also failing to generate a demand for industrial products appro-

13 Grimaud, N.: 'Approfondissement de la 'reVolution socialiste' en AlgeYie*. In:

Maghreb-Madirek, 56, 1973, pp. 15-16. 14 Prenant, A.: 'La proprie'te' fonciere

des citadins dans la re*gion de Tlemcen et

Sidi-Bel- Abbes*. In: Annales algeViennes de gôgraphie, 3, 1967, p. 79.

15 Akkache, A.: op. cit. p. 12. 16 Akkache, A.: op. cit. p. 13.

53



priate to its number of potential consumers. If the industrial targets of the 1970 - 73 Plan and of subsequent development plans are to be achieved, the potential of the interior rural market must be realised both for its own sake and to permit the scale economies upon which a competitive ex- port trade in industrial products can be based. A final area in whidi there is need for agrarian reform is in the expansion of employment opportuni- ties. Industrialisation, by its very automated nature, can only make a limited contribution to reduce unemployment. The intensification of production hnplicit in agrarian reform should absorb part of this underused man- power, or at least reduce rural-urban migration for a while.

Thus with the implementation of the ambitious Four Year Plan, 1970 -

73, the need for agrarian reform was stronger than ever. A national commission of the "Front de Liberation National" had been working on an ad- vance-project since 1966 and this was published in April 1970 as the Tro- jet de Charte de Evolution agraire*. Numerous speeches and seminars en- sued, one particular aim being to explain the project to those inhabiting the rural regions. One result was that the "habous", or land owned by religious bodies, was added to the area to be expropriated.17 In February 1971 the final act of nationalising foreign oil interests expanded the state's control over its economy and finances. Its füll attention could now be turned to the long-awaited agrarian reform. On the 8th. November 1971 the laws and ordinances of the Charter of the Agrarian Revolution were sig- ned by President Boumedienne. The text of the Charter was published in the "Journal Officiel de la Republique Algerienne", and was reproduced in an appendix by Doucy and Monheim.18 In large part it followed the Tri- poli Programme with subsequent decrees specifying the important minutiae concerning limits to landholdings in the various agro-climatic regions of the country and the Statutes of the co-operative organisations set up to group the beneficiaries of the reform. The subsequent two yearshaveseenthe clau- ses of the Charter emerge as realities or active policies. It is proposed to follow these realities through rather than itemize the contents of the 1971 Charter.

THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE FONDS NATIONAL DE LA REVOLUTION AGRAIRE

First Phase: The 1972 Census and redistribution of the public lands

For the purpose of redistributing land, a kind of land bank was set up, the "Fonds National de la Revolution Agraire", with which expropriated land could be lodged prior to its reallocation. Land was to be acquired from absenteeists, from the excess expropriated from large landowners, and from State, communal, and land belonging to religious endowments. In translat-

17 Doucy, A. and Monheim, F.: 'Les r^volutions alg^riennes', Paris, 1971, pp. 198-207.

18 Journal Officiel de la Republique

Algerienne, No. 97. 30. 11. 1971. Doucy, A. and Monheim, F.: op. cit.

pp. 318-350.

54



ing words into action the basic lack of cadastral or land ownership data was a serious obstacle. Conventional cadastral surveys were too expensive and too time-consuming.19 Less precise surveys had to suffice, even if they involved an element of rough justice and were open to abuse.

Probably because of such data deficiencies and also because of the politically sensitive issue of limiting private landownership, the First Phase of the reform concerned the census and redistribution of public land, includ- ing habous land. The census commenced in March 1972 and involved 300 officials from the "Minist&re de PAgriculture et de la R£forme Agraire", together with 600 students from agricultural Colleges.20 Of the 5 million hectares surveyed 1 million were deemed agriculturally useful and have been divided amongst 60 000 "attributaires" or beneficiaries. In fact some of this reform land could not be immediately transfered, as the plots were too small and too scattered, and so was retained by the Fonds National to be redistributed later along with expropriated private land. A figure of 54 000 beneficiaries is probably more accurate which means that about 350 000 people were affected by this initial phase.21 Regional aspects are summarised in Table 1, in this case covering a more limited area of 617 867

Table 1: Regional aspects of the first phase of Algeria* s Agrarian Reform, 1972-73

Wilaya Area of Public No. of Average Groupement de mise en valeur Landredis- Benefi- AreaofAllo- No. Beneficiaries Area tributed (ha) ciaries cation (ha) involved (ha)

Alger 6218 3 024 2 - - - Annaba 144 200 5 859 24.6 59 1031 14 650

(SAU 91 718) * (15.6) * (6 284)* Aures 27 751 3 514 7.9 29 397 826 Constantine 160 973 7 889 20.4 46 2 748 31299 ElAsnam 14 613 2132 6.8 59 1279 6 392 Media 2 888 221 12.5 - - - Mostaganem 16 587 2 552 6.5 - - - Oasis 2 836 2 481 1.1 1 110 540 Oran 77 264 7 027 11 6 87 1181 Saida 26 045 828 31.4 2 27 320 Saoura 29 27 1.1 3 24 27 Setif 22 989 1436 16 15 202 2 056 Tiaret 97 000 5 095 19 23 745 2 000 Tizi-Ouzou 2 271 332 6.8 15 - - Tlemcen 16 203 1367 11.8 - - -

Total 617 867 43 784 14.1 258 6 650 59 291

19 Tiano, A.: op. cit. (1968), p. 49. 20 Caisse Centrale de Co-ope*ration

Economique, Agence d'Alger: 'Elements d'information Economique sur l'Alge*rie en 1972', Doc/9. July, 1973, p. 55.

21 Weexsteen, R.: 'La reVolution agraire de TAlgerie'. In: Le Monde diplomati- que, September, 1973, p. 16.

55



Wilaya Coope*rative d'exploitation Production Coope*ratives Individual Holdings en commun

No. Beneficiaries Area No. Beneficiaries Area No. Area involved (ha) involved (ha) (ha)

Alger 5 18 95 135 2989 6074 17 49^25 Annaba - - - 272 4 828 129 550

(85 410) * - - Aurh 53 730 1519 118 2 387 25 406 - - Constantine - - - 274 5 141 129 674 - - El Asnam 17 201 2 610 30 535 4 580 117 1031 AiSdSa - - - 18 199 2 369 22 519 Mostaganem - - - 106 1588 12 417 964 4170 Oasis 16 2 371 2 296 - - - - - Oran 449 6 714 74 434 13 226 1649 - - Saida - - - 54 801 25 725 - - Saoura - - - 1 3 2 - -

Setif 12 207 673 96 1027 20 260 - - Tiaret - - - 210 4 350 95 000 - - Tizi-Ouzou - - - 18 332 2 271 - - Tlemcen 155 1339 15 960 4 28 243 - -

Total 707 11580 97 587 1349 24 434 455 220 1120 5 769 * SAU - Agriculturally useful area Source: El Djeich (Algiers), No. 121, p. 16.

ha. All but a small fraction of the recipients of reform land were organised into co-operatives, an aspect whidi will be dealt with more fully later.

More up-to-date summaries of this first phase indicate that by mid-1973 all the public land in the Wilaya of Algiers had been redistributed to 3 250 attributaires, most of them organised into 131 production co-operatives.22 In the Wilaya of Constantine 300 000 ha of public land had been allocated to the Fonds National, of whidi 140 000 ha were arable. This arable land was quickly redistributed to 7 887 attributaires many of whom were organised in the 312 production co-operatives.28 The problem of comparability between the various national and regional statistics summarising the first phase of the reform is exacerbated by the fact that by 1973 the second phase was well underway, and private land was being redistributed con- currently as was the setting up of the various co-operatives to organise the agriculture of the areas affected.

The second phase: The redistribution of private land

A more difficult task had to be faced in the Second Phase, the expropriation of excess land f rom private landowners and of all land f rom absenteeists. The threat of a limit on private landholdings had existed since inde-

pendence. Viratelle has suggested that this threat had resulted in disin-

22 'La premiere phase de la Revolution agraire dans la wilaya d' Alger'. In: AlgeVie Actualite*, No. 403, 8.- 14. 7. 1973, p. 10.

23 El Moudjahid, Algiers, 10. 9. 1973.

56



vestment; cLes possedants cessent tout investissement d&s qu'ils entendent parier de r^forme agraire'.24 Although exact details of the limits were not published until August 1973, many could anticipate that they would suffer some expropriation. Consequently, there were many instances of 'dona- tionsc of private land by large landowners and by absenteeists to the Fonds National de la Revolution Agraire. By January 1973 gifts of 60 000 ha of land from 1232 individuals had been received together with 4 000 fruit trees and 4 000 date palms.25 Whether this involved the 'off-loading* of the less fertile parts of the larger holdings can not be verified. Certainly there does seem to have been evasion through the over-rapid movement back to their land by absentee holders who had taken up residence in the towns. Also an initial survey of private land gave scope for false declarations.26

The census of private landholdings was carried out in two stages. An initial collection of declarations of properties and place of residence was followed by a more detailed recensement. In default of a detailed cadastral survey, the provision of which would have been a long, expensive task, the authorities had to rely on a questionnaire survey backed up by local vigilance. The first stage required all landowners to make a 'declaration of residence' in which they had to State their main place of residence, their main sources of income, and their properties. This provided an alphabeti- cal list of landowners for each commune and was carried out in May and June 1972. Armed with this list the local authorities, in this case the "As- semblê Communale Populaire Elargie (APCE)", could then proceed to verify, detect ommissions, and obtain further data relevant to the land reform. Having established the absentee landowners, who would be inter- viewed separately in their commune of residence, the APCE together with census officials would proceed to a detailed questionnaire survey of the resident landowners. Data was obtained under three main headings. Firstly Information was sought about the landowner, his family, his main activity, his total land and buildings. Secondly, data was recorded about each plot of land which went to make up his holding; its locality, area, land use, whether irrigated, whether leased out. Thirdly, in the case of properties in whole or in part leased out, data was obtained about the individual who actually cultivated or managed each plot.27 From this questionnaire survey could be established a list of small landowners who would not be affected by the measures to expropriate excess holdings.

At the same time under the auspices of the APCE a list of attributaires was drawn up from those who had earlier put themselves forward as candidates for land to be redistributed by the reform officials. Potential attributaires had to be of working age, and either a landless peasant, a paid agricultural worker, a sharecropper, or an unemployed rural resident. When a woman was head of a household she could qualify if she could

24 Viratelle, G.: 'L'AlgeVie algerienne', Paris, 1970, p. 163.

25 'Revolution agraire, An I, objectifs atteints*. In: Revolution Africaine, Algiers, No. 464, 12-18. 1. 1973.

26 Weexsteen, R.: op. cit. p. 16

27 Ministere de l'Agriculture et de la Re*forme Agraire, Commission Nationale de la Revolution Agraire: Trocessus des opeVa- tions de la 2eme. phase de la reVolution

agraire . . .\ 1973.

57



prove her capacity to work land through immediate relatives within the household. This separate survey of people to receive land had to reject bo- gus candidates, often women or aged, sick peasants. Elsewhere, insufficient candidates were forthcoming through inadequate publicity or local hosti- lity fostered by large landowners and religious interests.28

Although this proceedure by necessity had to fall far short of a füll cadastral survey, it was nevertheless an immense task and required the mo- bilisation and training from late 1972 of some 2 000 students from the regional agricultural schools. This permitted three census agents to accomp- any the officials of each APCE in carrying out the questionnaire survey and in tabulating the results.29 In addition some 7 000 other students were mobilised in the summers of 1972 and 1973 to publicise and popularise the aims and methods of the agrarian reform. It was deemed particularly important to explain the role of the complementary developments, that is the setting up of various types of co-operatives and the possible regrouping of the people concerned in the much-publicised 'thousand new villagesc.30.

The scale of the census Operation and the complexity of its local details undoubtedly account for the six months delay in completion of this central part of the second phase of the agrarian reform. Originally, all the wilayate of Northern Algeria were to have been surveyed by the end of March 1973.81 In the event the trial project in the wilaya of Saida did not Start until that month and was completed by August 1973.32 By then, completion could be «more assuredly forecast for the wilayate of Mostaganem, Oran, Tiaret, and Constantine by the end of September, 1973, for Tlem- cen and El Asnam by the end of October, and for Alger, Titteri, Grande- Kabylie, S£tif, Batna, and Annaba by the end of November 1973. The remaining two Saharan wilayate were to be covered by a Special survey pro- grammed for 1974.

With the basic landholding data becoming available in late 1973, the Algerian Government considered it could now define the long-awaited limits on property holdings. Theoretically, a private owner-occupier would only be allowed to keep sufficient of his land to guarantee him an annual income three times that of the family of a permanent worker on an autogestion farm, that is 9 000 dinars per year. If he were a family man with children, this income limit would be raised 50% to 13 500 dinars per year.38 Land grants to the attributaires would be at one third of this level, to allow an annual income of 3 000 dinars. In July 1973, these monetary values were translated into areal terms with the publication of the "fourch-

28 Caisse Centrale de Co-opeVation Economique: op. cit. Doc/9. p. 56.

29 Ministere de PAgriculture et de la Riforme Agraire, Commission Nationale de la Revolution Agradre: 'Prooessus des opeVations de la 2eme. phase de la reVolu- tion agraire . . .', 1973, p. 4.

30 Revue de Presse, Maghreb, Prodie- Orient, Moyen-Orient, Algiers, No. 167, July- August, 1972.

31 Ministere de PAgriculture : op. cit. 'Processus des opeVations . . .'

32 El Moudjahid, Algiers, 13. 9. 1973, p.3.

33 'La premiere phase de la Revolution agraire dans la wilaya d' Alger'. In: Alge*- rie-Actualite*, No. 403, 8.- 14. 7. 1973, p.ll.

Weexsteen, R : op. cit. p. 16.

58



ettes", or maximum and minimum holdings permissable for large landowners. These varied according to land use and capability, and, as Table 2 indicates, the absolute maximum was 110 ha.

Table 2: Property limits for private holdings

Land use type land would be expropriated above the following limits

minima (ha) maxima

1. Cropland Irrigated 1.00 5.00 Dryfarmed 5.00 110.00

2. Plantations and fruit-tree groves a) Irrigated:

Clementines 1.50 3.50 Other Mediterranean früh trees 3.00 9.00 S tone- f mit trees 2.00 13.00 Pip-fruit trees 1.50 7.50 Olive groves and other bardy trees 10.50 35.00

b) Dry-farmed: Stone-fruit trees 4.00 6.00 Pip-fruit trees 2.50 4.50 Olive groves and other hardy trees 11.50 45.00 Vines, for wine 4.00 18.00 Vines, for table grapes 3.50 7.00

Source: Journal Officiel de la Ripublique AlgeVienne, No. 59, 24. 7. 1973

Within each commune the APCE was left to decide on the precise limit to be adopted, but the scope for disagreement was lessened by subsequent government decrees which divided each wilaya into several zones and sub- zones and specified much more restricted fourchettes for each of those divi- sions.34 Each commune, or part thereof , was allocated to a zone on the basis of land capability. Table 3 for the Wilaya of El-Asnam illustrates how precise the limits were for each of these physical zones. For date-tree palm groves fourchettes were established on the basis of the limiting num- bers of palm trees, rather than by areas. Table 4 illustrates a similar de- gree of precision for the Deglet Nour variety in the Wilaya of Aur£s.

The excess holdings, above the specified limits, were expropriated. As in the case of the totally expropriated absenteeistsc holdings, this 'nationalised* land qualified for indemnity payments in Treasury bonds receiving a 2.5 % interest rate and realisable in equal instalments over a period of fif- teen years. The Charter states that the value of such indemnities will be based on the land tax as declared prior to the agrarian revolution.85

34 Journal Officiel de la Kipublique AlgeVienne, No. 65, 14. 8. 1973.

35 Weexsteen, R.: op. cit. p. 16. Schliephake, K.: 'Changing the Tradi-

tional Sector of Algeria's Agriculture*. In: Land Reform, Land Settlement and Co- operatives (FAO), Rome, 1973 (1), p. 20.

59



Table 3: Property limits for private holdings in the Wilaya of El Asnam

Land nse type Zones (ha) 1. Cropland 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

a) Irrigated 1-2 2-3 2-4 2-4 2-4 2-4

b) Partly-irrigated 2-3 5-7 5-7 5-7 5-7

c) Dry-farmed 6-9 7-12 30-50 35-50 20-27 50-80

2. Plantations and fruit-tree groves a) Irrigated: all zones

Clementines without pips, Montreal Satsuma, Wilking 2-2.5 Other Mediterrane an fruits 3.5 - 6 Stone-fruit trees 2.5-3.5 Pip-fruit trees 2-3 Pomegranates 4.5 - 6

b) Dry-farmed: Almond'trees 5 - 7 Fig-trees 5-7 Olive-trees 15-20 Stone-fruit trees 5 7*£/e grape w»e5 5 V*»e$, /or wine (plains) 7 - 9 Vines, for wine (slopes and hüls) 5 - 7

So«rce: J.O.R.A. No. 65, 14. 8. 1973, p. 722

Table 4: Property limits for the date-palm holdings in the Wilaya of Arnes zones

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Deglet nour variety 1. In füll production: No. of palm-trecs:

a) Water valorisee 110-140 150-180 180-220 270-320 270-320 b) Water non-valorisie 90-110 130-150 155-180 225-255 225-255

2. Production in decline:

a) Water valorisie 145-160 220-270 220-270 - -

b) Water non-valorisee 125-145 180-220 180-220 - -

Source: J.O.R.A. No. 65, 14. 8. 1973, p. 744

Already by September 1973 the first results of this second phase of the agrarian revolution were being publicised. In the Wilaya of Constantine 56 000 ha, belonging mainly to absenteeists, had been nationalised. 26 000 ha of these had been redistributed to 1600 beneficiaries grouped into 75 production co-operatives. This initial land redistribution concentrated on cereal land so as to avoid too much disruption in production.86 In the Wilaya of Sai'da, where the first completed census of holdings had been achieved, the second phase redistribution allocated 11 975 ha to 2 867 be-

36 El Moudjahid, Algiers, 10. 9. 1973.

60



neficiaries. In detail the expropriation had taken 8 510 ha from absenteeists and 3 465 ha from excessively-large holdings.87 Although only interim results in the case of Constantine, both these examples would appear to have a limited impact, involving a restricted area and only few of those who are supposed to benefit from the agrarian revolution, i.e. the 66 549 unemployed agriculturalists who were recorded f or the Wilaya of Constan- tine in 1966.88

THE ORGANISATION OF LAND REDISTRIBUTION -

THE CENTRAL ROLE OF THE COOPERATIVES

The beneficiaries of the land redistribution are awarded a 'settling-in* sub- sidy of about 150 dinars per month in cash and a further 100 dinars in food commodities until their first harvest.39 In return they are obliged to belong to one of the co-operatives which form the central organising insti- tution of agricultural development of the reform lands. While membership is compulsory for the beneficiaries, it is optional for the owner-occupier private landowners who were already established prior to the reform. Ide- ally it is hoped that several of the types of co-operatives will integrate both beneficiaries and older-established peasant f armers. A three-level structure of co-operatives is being set up.40

1. Pre-cooperative groupings: These simpler introductory organisations can take three approaches. The "Groupement de mise en valeur" has the aim of improving uncultivated or seriously under-cultivated land. Once a reasonable productive level has been achieved, a more organised co- operative System is introduced. Beneficiaries not wishing for the moment to divide up a large holding can form a "Groupement d'indivisaires" to maintain the economic unity of an expropriated property. Individuais' income would be based on the number of hours worked. Elsewhere groups of peasants and beneficiaries can form a "Groupement d'entraide paysanne". Ge- nerally each member of a pre-co-operative grouping keeps the crop from his own holding.

2. Co-operative groupings: These are more formally organised co- operatives. The "Co-op£ratives agricoles de production collective" group together land and the means of production of its members who collectively carry out farming operations, purchases, and sales. Income is divided according to the hours worked. This co-operative structure is primarily designed for the reform beneficiaries though adjoining smallholders will be allowed to join. By contrast, land remains individually owned in the "Co-

37 El Moudjahid, Algiers, 21. 9. 1973. 38 Commissariat National du Recense-

ment de la Population: 'Recensement Ge*- neVal de la Population et de PHabitat 1966', Wilaya de Constantine, Se*rie 1, Vo- lume V, p. 174.

39 Weexsteen, R.: op. cit. p. 16. Schliephake, K.: op. cit. p. 27. 40 'La Revolution Agraire et les co-

ope*ratives agricoles'. In: Revue Alglrienne de Travail, No. 11, 1972, pp. 35-44.

61



operatives d'exploitation en commun". Each member works his own land from which he draws his income, but he has to follow a cultivation plan decided by all members of the co-operative. Beneficiaries and established smallholders may be jointly grouped in such a co-operative but always with a three to one ratio in favour of the beneficiaries.

The first phase of the reform concerning public land saw the establishment of 258 groupements de mise en valeur, 707 co-operatives d'exploitation en commun, and 1349 co-operatives agricoles de production collective. Regional variations and predilections can be ascertained from Table 1.

3. Service co-operatives: These various kinds of production co-operatives are then grouped in a third level of Service co-operatives. Spe- cialised "Co-operatives de Services specialisees" can be set up on the initiative of two or more individuals or organisations. Their aim is to share means of production other than land for one or several specific operations. Under the initiative of the "Minist^re de PAgriculture et de la R^forme Agraire" a System of more general Service co-operatives is actively being established. These "Co-operatives Communales polyvalentes de Services (C.A.P.C.S.)" are open to all agriculturalists with membership being obli- gatory for the land reform beneficiaries, as well as for the older-established "co-op^ratives d'anciens moudjahidines" and the autogestion estates. The C.A.P.C.S. will provide Services for working the land, such as seed and agricultural machinery, and will market farm Output and purchase inputs. For the reform beneficiaries it also functions as an intermediary for State assistance and as a watchdog to ensure adherence to the texts of the agrarian reform. Private landownership will be monitored, unsatisfactory beneficiaries will be identified, and appropriate action will be taken. Each C.A.P.C.S. will function rather like an autogestion estate with policy deci- sions being taken via a hierarchy of an elected general assembly, a management Council, and a president who will be assisted by a director and a "commissaire aux comptes", both nominated by the M.A.R.A.41

It is planned to establish 600 C.A.P.C.S. with one being located in each rural commune in Algeria. Physically they will involve the construction of an office, two storage barns, and a repair Workshop. Later on further buildings will be added according to the local agricultural specialism. The work of construction is being carried out by a State Organisation, the "Chan- tiers Populaires de Reboisement", chosen because of its nationwide Orga- nisation and its spare construction capacity. The tasked is helped by the use of a "plan-type" to standardize the buildings both with respect to de- sign and construction materials. Within each commune the location of the C.A.P.C.S. followed three criteria: firstly, it had to be near a village but not within it as at least one hectare of land was required; secondly, a road- side location, usually on a "route wilaya", was sought; thirdly, an adequate infrastructure of water, electricity, etc. had to be available. Usually they

41 Weexsteen, R.: op. cit. p. 16.

62



are being constructed on land obtained during the first phase of the agrarian revolution.42

By 1973 the first such Service co-operatives were being inaugurated. One of the first is at Ameur el Ain, 80 km west of Algiers, in a viticultural commune. Its members are ten autogestion estates, one "co-operative des anciens moudjahidines", and one co-operative of the Agrarian Revolution, established during the first phase. It is thought unlikely that further reform units will be formed locally during the second phase as the private holdings are too small to be involved in the redistribution.43

By the end of 1973 it was hoped to have completed 400 of the C.A.P.- C.S. as in principle it should have taken three months to complete the initial construction work. Delays were met, however, partly as a result of national shortages of cement and of iron and steel, and partly through diffi- culties being encountered in the training of cadres to manage and run the Service co-operatives. Locational priorities for the first C.A.P.C.S/s were those areas where production co-operatives had already been set up and the poorer rural regions distant from established Service centres. By Septem- ber 1973 four C.A.P.C.S.'s had been completed: Cheraga and Ameur el Ain in the Wilaya of Algiers, one in Constantine, and one in Oran. An- other 43 were approaching completion in that their foundations and basic frame had been constructed and their walls and roofs were actively being built. As Table 5 shows, they were mainly in the eastern and central wilayate of the country. Indeed the western wilayate were also behind the rest in terms of starting to construct the C.A.P.C.S.

Through these three levels of co-operatives, culminating in the Service co-operatives, it is aimed to integrate the various forms of agricultural exploitation. As well as land tenure and it is hoped, land use effects, the agrarian revolution is also planned to have a considerable influence in modifying rural settlement patterns. Dispersed rural settlement was often appropriate for the individual private holdings of the pre-reform Situation, but the agrarian revolution, with its emphasis on a co-operative approach, requires the creation of grouped settlements44. Consequently a mudi publicised policy has been initiated to construct 1000 new villages in the five years, 1972-76. A first phase of 100 villages was planned for 1973, but by September of that year only 1 7 appeared to be actively under construction, of which two had been handed over to their future occupants, the beneficiaries of the land reform45. More localised reports indicate that a somewhat larger number of villages may well be underway. According to the Wali of Algiers six villages are to be started in 1973 for a 1974 com- pletion46. In the Wilaya of Tiaret the new village of Dayat-Terfes, with 160 out of the planned 200 houses completed, should be inaugurated before the end of 1973, and two other villages are under construction near Tiaret

42 Interview. Chantiers Populaires de Reboisement, Algiers, September, 1973.

43 El Moudjahid, Algiers, 12. 9. 1973. 44 'A la dimension du monde rural'. In:

El Djeich, Algiers, 121, 1973, pp. 17-18.

45 El Moudjahid, Algiers, 7. 9. 1973. 46 'La premiere phase de la Revolution

agraire dans la wilaya d'Alger'. In: Alge*- rie-Actualite*, No. 403, 8.- 14. 7. 1973.

63



Table 5: The Construction Programme for the Cooperatives Communales Polyvalentes de Service (C.A.P.CS.) - Situation in September 1973

Wilaya No. of C.A.P.C.S. No. started by No. close to Planned September 1973 completion, Sept. 1973

Annaba 39 39 10 Batna 39 39 7 Constantine 39 39 8 (1) Setif 37 37 7 Tizi-Ou2ou 51 33 0 Alger 31 31 2(2) Titten 25 21 6 El Asnam 25 22 0 Oran 50 35 7(1) Mostaganem 51 16 0 Tlemcen 30 14 0 Tiaret 32 15 0 Saida 24 14 0 Saoura 22 6 0 Oasis n.d. n.d. n.d.

TW 495 361 47(4)

n.d.: no data

(4): number completed

Source: Interview, Chantiers Populaires de Reboisement, Algiers, Septembre 1973

itself47. In neighbouring Saida, the new village of Maamora is practically complete, those of Sfid and Mosbah about to be started, and the projects for the Second Four-Year Plan's (1974 - 77) contribution have already been designated. Thirteen further new villages in Saida will include four pastoralism-based sdiemes. The near-complete new village of Maamora illustrates the ränge and potentiality of these additional rural service centres. Maamora is composed of 145 dwellings for the reform beneficiaries who will also be provided with a school with three classrooms, a health centre, a local government annexe, a post office, a mosque, a public bath- house, a meeting hall, and an office for the local FLN party. 'All the conditions necessary for economic, social, and political activity have been provided to assure a decent living and an adequate environment for the beneficiaries/48 Generally though, progress seems to be slower than with other aspects of the agrarian revolution, and the results are likely to be more variable. The construction of each village depends on several minis- tries whose co-ordination is sometimes lacking. As planned implantations, there is a temptation to ignore the practical necessities of rural life and to minimise the participation of the local peasantry. The resulting villages could be anachronistic both with regards to the local environment and to the society49.

47 El Moudjahid, Algiers, 6. 9. 1973. 48 El Moudjahid, Algiers, 21. 9. 1973.

49 Weexsteen, R.: op. cit. p. 16.

64



As well as the relative lack of progress in the new villages programme, a tendency to fall slightly behind schedule has been recorded elsewhere in the agrarian reform, notably in the completion of the census of private land and in the construction of the infrastructure of the Service co-operatives. Generally this has resulted from the shortages in skilled personnel and in construction materials being experienced by the whole Algerian economy. There certainly does not appear to be a shortage of funds for the agrarian reform. Weexsteen particularly observes that *il est cependant Evident qu* aucun frein k la râlisation de la Evolution agraire d'origine financi&re ne sera admis par le pouvoir quel que soit le cout r£el de l'op^ration50. According to him, the State has budgeted 88 282 000 dinars for the agrarian revolution programmes in 1972, and 136 million dinars in 1973. This is to cover the csettling-inc subsidies (30 million dinars eadi year), the census and information campaign expenses, the indemnities to those communes deprived of their public lands, and the cost of agricultural improvement works. Credits to equip the co-operatives amount to 170 million dinars in 1972, and to 140 million in 1973. Similar loans to cover payment for seed, ferti- lisers, wages, etc. for the initial 1973 agricultural year are estimated at 90 million dinars. Longer-term finance for the C.A.P.C.S/s will amount to 120 million dinars of temporary credits and 60 million dinars of definitive credits. The "groupements de mise en valeur" will receive 40 million dinars of definitive credits and the new agricultural villages 200 million dinars51. The "Caisse Centrale de Co-op^ration Economique" has estimated 1972 funds of the same order: 278 million dinars available to the "Fonds Na- tional de la Revolution Agraire" for 1972, to which could be added the 20 million dinars donated by private individuals. Only around two-thirds of this sum, about 180 million dinars were actually spent in 1972, reflecting a shortage of materials rather than of funds52.

Conclusion

As the second phase of Algeria's agrarian reform approaches its completion in late 1973, some interim conclusions can be put forward. Several years will have to elapse, however, before a more measured evaluation can be attempted. Prospects of success are reasonable given the government's continued financial and political support. For the present, funds seem as- sured for the land redistribution and the setting up of production and Service co-operatives. The longer-term project of the 1,000 new villages is probably less certain as the political attention of the government may well be diverted elsewhere. The years 1971-73 have seen the direct involve- ment of many government ministers in the agrarian reform programme, with President Boumedienne himself frequently distributing land to the beneficiaries, opening service co-operatives, and laying foundation stones for reform villages.

50 Weexsteen, R.: op. cit. p. 17. 51 Weexsteen, R.: op. cit. p. 17.

52 Caisse Centrale de Coope*ration Eco- nomique: op. cit. Doc/9. p. 59.

65



Also it is politically significant that private landholding has not been abolished by the land reform. Indeed, the threefold disparity in size between the unexpropriated part of large and medium landholdings and the new holdings distributed to the benef iciaries, ensures the continued presence of medium-sized private owner-occupiers in Algerian agriculture. The eli- mination of communal land and absentee landlordism, together with the nationalisation of religious land and tribal land, the habous and the arch lands, is much more complete and fundamental than the limitation of private landholding. Thus, in one dramatic measure, centuries of restrictive tenure arrangements and of traditional agrarian practices have been over- turned58. The power bases of several landed interests have thus been re- moved. If a reaction on the lines of that experienced by Tunisia in 1969, when the government's co-operative-based agrarian programme was re- versed, is to be avoided, the next few years must ensure the political defence of the reform54. Certainly, the phased operations of Algeria's agrarian reform so far seem better organised than the sweeping co-operativisation measures applied to Tunisia's agriculture in 1969. The devolution of ad- ministrative powers to the A.P.C.E/s should have helped to ensure political vigilance on a local level, even though certain of those assembl£es would be divided between the opponents and supporters of the reform. Consequently a new element in the defence of the reform has involved the establishment of peasants' unions (UNPA) by the F.L.N. party. Only landless peasants and smallholders, whether reform beneficiaries or pre-existing peasants with properties too small to be af f ected by the expropriation measures, can belong to a U.N.P.A. This Organisation, which will eventually have a hierarchical structure culminating in periodic national congresses, gives the peasant smallholders the power to watch over the correct applica- tion of the texts of the Charter of the Agrarian Revolution. In time the U.N.P.A. could put up candidates and dominate the elections for the "as- semblees populaires communales"55.

If its political defence is important in the short-term, the longer-term success of Algeria's agrarian reform hinges on its economic results. Ob-

viously these can not be evaluated yet; only suggested ways of measuring such economic success can be put forward. The social justice aims of increasing agricultural employment and of eradicating rural unemployment and under-employment must rank high as an index of the reform's impact. About 900 000 peasant families form the social problem which the agrarian reform is designed to ameliorate. At the same time, it is aimed to increase

agricultural production on the reform lands. Since 1968 Algeria's agricultural production has stagnated; indeed it has declined in value by 1.0% per annum, 1969 - 197256. Cereal production fluctuates according to climatic vagaries and it is too soon to see if improved varieties are increasing yields. Stagnation is the keynote over the last few years' production of

53 Weexsteen, R.: op. cit. p. 16. 54 Jacoby, E. H.: 'Man and Land: The

Fundamental Issue in Development* Lon- don, 1971, pp. 344-349.

55 Weexsteen, R.: op. cit. p. 17. 56 Caisse Centrale de Coope*ration Eco-

nomique: op. cit. Doc/9. pp. 99 - 100.

66



Mediterranean fruits, dates, olives, vegetables and meat, and distinct de- clines are observable in that of market-garden produce, industrial crops, and wine, in the latter case as part of a planned reconversion of the vine- yards to other crops57. The economic argument for agrarian reform through increased productivity and intensification has been argued elsewhere58. The 1972 - 73 census of private agricultural land provides a land use datum against which intensification can be measured by future füll or sample censuses. The network of Service co-operatives also provides for better audit- ing of quantities produced and commercialised.

Another index of the reform's effectiveness could be the reduction of rural-urban drift. The rapid, recent urbanisation of the Algerian population apparent from the 1966 census, and which has undoubtedly continued since then, relects the inability of depressed rural areas to hold people on the land rather than any large upsurge in urban employment opportuni- ties59. The next population census, provisionally scheduled for 1975 or 1976, could well seek data on post-reform population migration.

It has already been pointed out that if it is intended to keep the majori- ty of the peasants on the land, Algeria will have to embark on an expansion of the area under cultivation60. The first phase of the reform made available 1 million ha for redistribution, and it has been estimated that the second phase will expropriate a further 2 million ha of privately-owned land. Given a lower estimate of 600 000 potential recipients of land, together with an average allocation of 10 ha to employ and support one family, it can be anticipated that only a little over one third of the candidates for reform land will be added to the 60 000 families adjudged to have benefited from the initial redistribution of public land61.

However, unlike many Latin American countries, Algeria has no large reserves of fertile land which could be rapidly brought into cultivation or which would be considerably intensified through the abolition of latifund- ism. 'Agrarian reform is certainly a prerequisite for Algeria, but füll productive employment is much more difficult to achieve in her countryside'62. With the current rapid population growth, which could result in the 1973 population of circa 14 million increasing to 17 million by 1976 and 25 million by 1986, the potential demand for both employment and food imply that agrarian reform is insufficient by itself . It must be made central to a wider rural renovation scheine. In this respect Tidafi lays particular em-

57 Caisse Centrale de Coope*ration Eco- nomique: op. cit. Doc/9. pp. 103 - 110.

58 Dorner, P. and Kanel, D.: 'The Economic Case for Land Reform: Employ- ment, Income Distribution, and Producti- vity'. In: Land Reform, Land Settlement and Cooperatives, (FAO), Rome, 1971 (1), pp. 1-16.

59 Sutton, K.: 'Algeria: dianges in population distribution, 1954 - 66'. In: Clar- ke, J. I. and Fisher, W. B.: 'Populations of

the Middle East and North Africa. A Geo- graphical Approach', London, 1972, pp. 373-403.

60 Schliephake, K.: op. cit. p. 28. 61 Grimaud, N.: op. cit. p. 16. 62 Mazoyer, M.: 'The Structure and

Forms of 'Underdevelopment' in Algeria: the Search for an Algerian Solution'. In: Dumont, R. with Mazoyer, M.: 'Socia- lisms and Development', Part 3. 1973.

67



phasis on anti-soil erosion measures, already practised in limited cdefence and restoration of soil' programmes (D.R.S.)63. In addition the agriculturally-useful area must be extended and particularly intensified through ir- rigation, fertilisation, and the introduction of improved plant species and techniques. The Service co-operatives of the agrarian reform could play a major part in this as the organising institutions and disseminators of such a rural renovation within a traditional agricultural System. It is worth re- calling that the 1962 Tripoli Programme envisaged agricultural modernization and soil and forestry conservation measures as parallel developments to agrarian reform, together constituting the agrarian revolution.

Resume

Le soutien continu du gouvernement sur les plans financier et politique fonde certains espoirs de succes pour les projets de la seconde phase de la revolution agraire algerienne. Les moyens apparaissent suffisants, qui doivent pourvoir d la nouvelle repartition des terres et d Vetablissement de cooperatives de production et de Services. - La nationalisation de proprietes foncieres, communales ou religieuses, ainsi que des biens ru~ raux de grands proprietaires, laisse peu de place ä la propriete fonciere privee, qui est

insignifiante. - Des groupements institutionnels, tels que l'U.N.P.A., donnent aux petits paysans la possibiliti d'influencer d'une certaine mesure le deroulement correct des dis-

positions prevues. - - Alors qu'd court terme la justification politique de la revolution agraire figure au premier plan, d long terme, c'est le resultat economique qui compte avant tout. On peut cependant ä peine evaluer celui-ci d Vheure actuelle, meme en s'aidant de criteres tels que Veffet sur l'emploi, la croissance de la production et de la

productivite9 ou la mesure de la baisse de Vexode rural. Mais la forte poussee dSmo- graphique permet dejd de prevoir aujourd*hui que la demande future9 en emplois comme en vivres9 ne pourra etre couverte par les seules mesures prises maintenant, et que d'autres projets paralleles, tels quyun Programme anti-erosion ou des mesures de reboisement, devront s'y ajouter.

63 Tidafi, T.: op. cit. pp. 186- 208.

68



Documents

Agrarian reform in Algeria: The conversion of projects into action