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In Algeria, agriculture and the reduction of food dependency are officially a national priority. Agriculture remains a problem as demonstrated by mixed results–?particularly fallow land. Public authorities are tirelessly attempting to solve the problems of this strategic sector even though the issues of food security and dependency vis-à-vis imports pose an ever-increasing challenge. A review of the literature on the subject confirms this finding. However, the examination of the causes of the weakness of agriculture is hardly consensual. The paper attempts to show that this is a long historical process, exacerbated by the strategic choices adopted after independence. The authors present the historical trajectory of Algerian agriculture from 1962 to the present, and make suggestions to revitalize the sector.