Algerian President Brushes Off Moroccan Media Claims About Wheat Production

On the Moroccan channel Medi 1, journalist Hanane Tsouri expressed doubts about the veracity of the images of the wheat harvest campaign in the Algerian Sahara, notably a very long line of trucks heading towards the wilaya of Adrar, which has become one of Algeria’s granaries. Journalist Hanane cried "scandal" and accused Algerian television of having used "artificial intelligence" to fabricate these images. Following these accusations, Algerian television broadcast many other reports showing even more impressive images of the means mobilized for the cereal harvest campaign in many regions of the Algerian Sahara, in Timimoun, El Menia, Illizi..., reports TSA.

On Sunday, the Algerian president took the opportunity to respond to these accusations during the ceremony commemorating Student Day at the Sidi Abdallah technology hub, west of Algiers. "Some, when they saw that the Sahara has become green and producing wheat, accused us and mentioned artificial intelligence," he reacted. He did not hesitate to mock the Moroccan channel. "It doesn’t matter, if artificial intelligence makes us eat wheat, it is welcome," he continued after a burst of laughter.

These accusations come in the wake of the publication on May 10 of a report by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) which predicts that Algerian wheat production (3 million tons) should this year be higher than that of its neighbor Morocco (2.5 million tons).