Al-Qaeda often likes to get credit for the economic woes of infidel nations; seems al-Qaeda is also responsible for ruining the economy of Muslim countries and making fellow believers go hungry. “Crackdown on al Qaeda hits Algeria’s potato crop,” by Lamine Chikhi for Reuters, April 20:
AIN DEFLA, Algeria, April 20 (Reuters) – Algeria is suffering a potato shortage because officials have imposed strict controls on the use of fertiliser to stop al Qaeda militants using it as a bomb-making ingredient, farmers said.
Security experts say ammonia, used by farmers to improve crop yields, has also been found in bombs detonated by Algerian militants affiliated to al Qaeda.
State security forces in this North African country have cracked down hard on the insurgents but farmers say there has been an unforeseen consequence: a kilo of potatoes in the capital now costs more than three times what it used to.[…]
“To prevent armed groups from fabricating bombs with ammonia, the security forces are tightening control over the distribution of fertilizers.
“When you ask for 10 kg of ammonia you get only 5 kg and you need to wait a long time before the local chamber of agriculture deals with your request,” he said. “The direct impact is a poor harvest and a rise in prices.