* Algeria got enough rain for a good season
* It still needs more rain in April
* Algeria wants to reduce its imports
By Lamine Chikhi
ALGIERS, March 21 (Reuters) - Algeria's grain-growing regions have had enough rainfall so far, but the level in April will determine whether this year's harvest will be good, an official from the agriculture ministry said.
"So far the situation is good, but not very good," Mohamed Habila, director of the Agriculture Ministry's National Institute for Soils, Irrigation and Drainage, told Reuters on Monday.
"We still need rainfall in April to make sure we will get a good harvest. It is still too early to make forecasts," Habila said in a phone interview.
"We are expecting more rain in the coming days and weeks, and this is good news."
Algeria ranks roughly as the world's fifth-biggest importer of wheat, with an average of 5 million tonnes per year. Any shortfall in domestic production forces the country to rely more heavily on world grain markets, in which prices have recently reached multi-year highs.
Agronomists say the Algerian grain crop requires rain during two periods: the sowing season, when moisture is needed to create the right soil conditions for the seed to develop, and in March-April to ensure the plants mature properly.
Last season's grain harvest was 4.56 million tonnes, below a record 6.1 million tonnes in 2009 but comfortably above the average for the past decade.
"We have launched an alert bulletin in March regarding four regions including two regions specialized in grain, which are Tiaret and Borbj Bou Arreridj. These regions need water urgently," Habila said.
The ministry of agriculture launched a plan in 2009 to reduce Algeria's dependency on imports and boost its domestic production.
(Editing by Jane Baird)