Wheat and barley are Algeria's major grain crops, representing 65 % of all cultivated areas in 1987. In spite of the government's longstanding objective of boosting productivity, grain self-sufficiency dropped from 91 % at freedom to 18.5 % in 1990. The drop resulted from such factors as the rapidly multiplying population, erratic climatic conditions, agricultural mismanagement, and rural migration to urban centers. Grain production plunged 25 % between 1986 and 1990, but returned to a record level in 1991. The bulk of the production was in wheat and barley.

Other main crops include grapes, citrus fruits, vegetables, olives, tobacco, and dates. In the early, 1990s Algeria was the world's fifth largest producer of dates. About three-quarters of the annual average of 200,000 tons are consumed locally. In 1990 olive groves covered at least 160,000 hectares, but unsatisfactory levels of olive oil production caused the government in 1990 to initiate a 10 year program to rehabilitate an additional 100,000 hectares of groves and build 200 oilpressing plants.