CHAPTER FOUR: ECONOMIC GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT provision for such internal and external shocks, and for mechanisms that will detect, absorb and avert them, as well as for appropriate responses. 464. The CRM has already welcomed the progress made towards reducing the country‟s dependence on oil receipts. It has noted Algeria‟s moderate success in dealing with climatic contingencies, which enabled it to increase exports and reduce food imports. Apart from red meat imports, it is important to reduce imports in wheat, fruit and vegetables, which are higher than national production despite significant investment, both in upstream (management of water) and downstream investment (commercial urbanism and franchises). The authorities rely heavily on private operators to meet the challenge of increasing national food production, but change is slow despite the range of different facilities and financing. The country should also exploit the products specific to it in the agricultural sphere in order to strengthen the bases of this sector. 465. In contrast, action that focuses purely on exports has not yet produced real results. Such action needs to be supported by mechanisms that start by looking at the entire production chain from the production site to the export site. Obviously, such mechanisms need to be examined in close cooperation with the private sector players who are the intended beneficiaries of such action, as increasing exports does not necessarily mean targeting production surpluses. What is needed is for the effectiveness of all public expenditure to be assessed on the basis of effective return for the national economy. In the final analysis, the country should attempt to derive as much advantage as it can from its unusual agricultural products and so strengthen the bases of this sector. iii. Recommendations 466. The APR Panel would like to recommend the following measures: 1. In the area of macro-economic governance (Attention: the government; Bank of Algeria; public and private sector) Identify and lift constraints on the extension of its bases and the expansion of economic growth, and to mobilise the competencies and resources to achieve this. Initiate studies on competitiveness in stimulating private investment and exports in order to identify foreign markets that need to be conquered and Algeria‟s comparative advantages in relation to its competitors. Evaluate the liberalisation of the Algerian economy, which has been under way for some time now, and reflect on the role of the political classes and civil society in building lasting social consensus. Evaluate major works and their impact in terms of promoting the know-how of local companies vis-à-vis successful foreign companies. 149