Italian firms head to Algeria for agricultural mechanisation push

About 15 Italian companies will travel to Algeria on 28–29 September 2026 to develop agricultural mechanisation, smart irrigation and digital farming links, as Algiers tries to modernise a farm sector that still leans heavily on traditional methods.

Italy’s trade agency ICE, working with agricultural-machinery federation FederUnacoma, is organising an Algeria mission for 28–29 September 2026 focused on agricultural mechanisation, smart irrigation, digital agriculture, nurseries and storage, with about 15 Italian companies expected to take part.

A targeted agricultural mechanisation push

This is not a broad trade-fair appearance. According to ICE’s programme, the mission opens on Monday 28 September with an introductory workshop and institutional speeches at one of Algiers’ main hotels, followed by B2B meetings between the Italian companies and Algerian public- and private-sector operators through the afternoon.

On Tuesday 29 September, the delegation visits farms in the Algiers region — a deliberate move to put Italian equipment makers in front of the fields, water systems and storage facilities they want to modernise.

The mission’s scope covers machinery and equipment for agriculture and livestock, smart irrigation, digitalisation, fruit and horticultural nurseries, and storage solutions. Algerian outlet Agroligne, which tracks the file closely, notes that no contracts have been announced at this stage; the mission is designed to open commercial and industrial cooperation first.

The money behind the mission

The commercial base is already growing fast. Italian exports of agricultural machinery and technology to Algeria came close to €35 million (about US$41 million) in 2024, up 34.9% from a year earlier, according to Istat data cited by sector outlet Meccagri — confirming Italy as Algeria’s second-largest supplier of farm machinery, behind China.

Momentum carried into 2025. Davide Gallarate of FederUnacoma’s events office said exports reached about €5 million (about US$5.8 million) in the first two months of 2025 alone, up 56.5% on the same period a year earlier. Livestock machinery is the single largest item, worth more than €15 million (about US$17 million), with harvesting and first-processing equipment also significant. (Euro figures converted at about €1 = US$1.16, mid-September 2026.)

Italy was also guest of honour at SIPSA-FILAHA 2025, Algeria’s flagship agricultural show, with a dedicated national pavilion in Algiers. The September mission builds on that visibility with a narrower, deal-oriented format.

Algeria’s food-security calculation

Algeria is trying to reduce its dependence on imported food, especially cereals, and that requires better equipment, more efficient water use and stronger local supply chains. ICE’s own presentation for the mission underlines the scale of the task: agriculture accounts for about 15% of Algeria’s GDP and draws on more than 8.6 million hectares of usable farmland, yet the agency estimates around 70% of farm activity still relies on traditional methods.

Water management and yields on strategic crops, starting with cereals, top the list of needs ICE identifies. That plays directly to Italian strengths in irrigation systems, harvesting equipment and post-harvest storage.

For Algiers, working with a Mediterranean partner offers logistical and political advantages. Italy is close, familiar with North African conditions and already one of Algeria’s biggest trading counterparts.

The Mattei Plan and the wider axis

The agricultural push sits inside a broader Italian strategy in North Africa. The mission is explicitly framed by ICE as a follow-up to the Italy-Algeria Business Forum held in Rome on 23 July 2025, alongside the fifth intergovernmental summit between the two countries, which covered energy and the circular economy, infrastructure and transport, and industry and agro-industry.

That relationship extends well beyond agriculture into the Mattei Plan-style energy and investment axis. Algeria remains central to Europe’s gas-security calculations, and Italy has been one of the main beneficiaries of that link.

Agricultural mechanisation may look technical, but it is part of the same geopolitical pattern: Italy offering practical technology while strengthening a partnership that also covers energy, migration and investment. It fits the wider pattern covered in Africa: The New Scramble, where Mediterranean and global powers compete for food, energy and infrastructure ties across the continent.

Who gains and who loses

Italian machinery makers gain a clearer route into a market where their exports are already rising quickly. Algerian farmers and agribusinesses gain access to equipment and systems that could raise yields and cut water waste.

Competing suppliers — above all China, the market leader — may feel the pressure. Italy’s second-place position and its double-digit export growth show Rome moving aggressively to defend and expand its share.

The wider Algerian economy stands to benefit if better mechanisation lifts cereal output and trims the import bill. That is the outcome Algiers is betting on.

What to watch next

The 28–29 September mission will show whether Italian interest converts into contracts and joint projects. The real test is not attendance but follow-up orders, maintenance agreements and technology transfer — areas where local training and integration could widen cooperation beyond equipment sales.

Algeria’s import rules and local-content requirements will shape how Italian firms structure their offers. Watch, too, for any announcement of joint ventures in assembly or servicing, which would signal a deeper footprint.

Finally, track whether export momentum holds: after a 34.9% jump in 2024 and a strong start to 2025, a third consecutive year of growth would confirm that the agricultural mechanisation axis between Rome and Algiers is structural, not episodic.

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