Agricultural Projects of Strategic Character in Algeria: Ministry Classification, ODAS File, 10,000 ha Minimum

1. 1. What does decree 24-55 say?

Executive decree no. 24-55 of 23 January 2024, published in Official Journal no. 04 the same day, rewrites three articles of executive decree no. 21-432 of 4 November 2021.

• Article 13: large areas intended for projects of strategic character are not subject to the call for applications.
• Article 14: the promoter of a project classified as strategic that needs a large area lodges the request, with a file, with ONTA or ODAS as the case may be. Classification is made by decision of the Minister of Agriculture, and the project is registered on the relevant digital platform.
• Article 28: beneficiaries of earlier land development schemes whose allocation was not completed had to comply with decree 21-432 before 31 December 2024.

The decree puts no figure on a “large area”. Nor does it list sectors or set a fee. The 10,000 ha and 2,000 ha thresholds, the list of sectors and the 20,000 DA fee come from the page ODAS devotes to the procedure, checked on 23/10/2026. Confirm them with the Office before committing to anything.

2. 2. What is a project of strategic character?

According to ODAS, it is a project aimed at food security and lower imports that creates real development hubs in the main farming sectors. It can only be located in the southern wilayas.

The page lists eight sectors:

• cereals;
• fodder;
• oilseeds;
• sugar beet;
• milk production;
• meat production;
• cotton;
• seed multiplication.

The list is wider than the portfolios', which stick to crops (cereals, oilseeds, sugar crops, fodder). Milk and meat, like cotton, only come in under this procedure.

3. 3. What thresholds, what fees?

The 20,000 DA fee is paid into the ODAS account at BADR bank, after classification and before the file is lodged with the Office. The account number is on the ODAS page.

4. 4. How does the procedure run?

1. The promoter lodges a complete file with the Ministry of Agriculture, with a letter to the minister asking for the project to be classified as of strategic character.
2. After classification, the promoter pays the file fee.
3. The file then goes directly to ODAS, which continues the concession procedure.

Decree 24-55 confirms the order: classification by ministerial decision, then a request to the competent office, which is ODAS in the South and ONTA elsewhere (article 14). The project is also registered on that office's digital platform.

The file ODAS describes includes, for any promoter:

• the business plan of the development project, with the investment plan, the delivery timetable and the financial structure;
• proof of financial capacity;
• the project's impact on the national economy;
• the number of workers declared to social security and of seasonal workers.

A natural person adds an identity card. A company adds its articles of association, the legal notices bulletin announcing its incorporation, its trade register extract and the identity cards of its manager, deputies or partners.

5. 5. Which projects have been classified?

ODAS publishes classified projects and invites their promoters to lodge their files. Three appear on its page as of 23/10/2026:

All three are joint-stock companies, and the areas run to tens of thousands of hectares. The procedure is not meant for a farmer looking for a few hundred hectares; for that, the door remains the portfolio.

6. 6. Portfolio or strategic project: which route?

Area decides first. Below 10,000 ha, seeds aside, only the portfolio route is open, with its 250 ha minimum and short windows.

Above that, in our reading, the strategic procedure has two advantages: it does not depend on the portfolio calendar, and it admits livestock sectors. In return it requires a file of another scale, showing the impact on the national economy and on jobs before the project even reaches ODAS.

Our ODAS Saharan farmland tool tracks the portfolios. For a strategic project, the first step remains the letter to the minister.

FAQ — Frequently asked questions

BENSAID Farouk

Financial & Economic Research Consultant — ProfitPilot NextGen Consulting

Certified sole trader and expert in financial studies, risk analysis and market research for SMEs, startups and investors in Algeria. View full profile