Algiers: Algeria and Italy yesterday signed a €420m deal ($455m) for an agricultural project in the North African country, the Algerian agriculture ministry said in a statement.

The scheme, which Italian officials called their country's largest agricultural investment in the southern Mediterranean, covers 36,000 hectares (89,000 acres) in Algeria's Timimoune province.

It will produce wheat, lentils and beans, among other foods, in the hopes of increasing Algerian non-hydrocarbon exports, officials said during the agreement ceremony.

It is also expected to create 6,700 jobs, they said.

The deal came months after Algeria signed a $3.5bn agreement with Qatar's largest dairy producer Baladna to establish a vast cow-breeding facility for the production of powdered milk.

Yesterday’s agreement was part of Algeria's strategy to expand production areas in its desert south to 500,000 hectares, Algerian officials said.

The project is also in line with the goals of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's "Mattei Plan", which is aimed in part at reducing irregular migration from Africa via investment in the continent.

The plan is named after Enrico Mattei, founder of the Italian energy company Eni. In the 1950s, he advocated for cooperation with African countries to develop their natural resources.

Meloni had said the "non-predatory" cooperation programme between Europe and Africa was initially valued at €5.5bn, some of which would be loans, with investments focused on energy, agriculture, water, health and education in African countries.

Other deals as part of the programme have been signed between Italy and other African countries, including Tunisia and Libya.

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