ALGIERS- The Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research Kamel Baddari, along with the Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development and Fisheries Youcef Cherfa, chaired Monday at the National Higher School of Agronomy in Algiers, the launch of the national strategy for the organisation, development and widespread cultivation of saffron in Algeria.

Baddari said the strategy "is one of the clauses of President Abdelmadjid Tebboune's programme, seeking to achieve a diversified agriculture based on scientific research and with high added value for the economy and society."

The minister announced "the beginning of the campaign to plant saffron as a product of great socio-economic value."

The strategy is meant to achieve four main goals: "the use of scientific research in agriculture, improve production and productivity, develop new seed varieties, establish saffron manufacturing industries, and add value to the national economy through its marketing at the local, regional, continental, and international levels," he said.

Baddari commended "the efforts of executives and researchers in the higher education and agriculture sectors, as well as the remarkable results achieved in this regard."