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Tunisia: Almost 225,000 hectares dedicated to organic agriculture
by Redaktion (comments: 0)
A meeting was held on organic farming in Tunisia. To everyone’s surprise, even to the journalists who were present, the figures describing organic agriculture in Tunisia were quite impressive. The area dedicated to organic crops has been increasing constantly and is at 225,000 hectares at this point of time.
Picture: Date Palm
Even if the country does not keep pace with growing customer demand particularly in European countries, Tunisia plays an import role in certain sectors of organic production.
| Cultures in hectares/year | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 |
| Olive trees | 12,489 | 28,900 | 58,440 | 80,000 | 89,325 |
| Orcharding | 2,277 | 1,660 | 3,030 | 4,080 | 6,430 |
| Date palms | 1,185 | 900 | 945 | 875 | 1,072 |
| Medical plants | 303 | 370 | 5,400 | 381 | 5,853 |
| Cereals | 515 | 190 | 1,200 | 1,071 | 1,746 |
| Pastures | 1,731 | 1,750 | 2,350 | 35,382 | 51,304 |
| Forest and others | 138 | - | 235 | 93,211 | 64,745 |
| Total | 18,638 | 33,500 | 71,600 | 215,000 | 220,475 |
At the meeting held by Cepex (Republic of Tunisia – Ministry of Commerce and Handicrafts), it was revealed that Tunisia was best known for the production of olive oil. The country also produces dates as well as other organic fruits and vegetables. The figure of organic production (olive trees, dates, other fruit and vegetables) show an impressive growth from 9,000 tonnes in 2002 to 120,000 tonnes in 2006. The most notable development was registered in the production of fruit and vegetables which rose from 1,500 tonnes to 65,000 tons.
| Cultures in tonnes/year | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 |
| Olive trees | 4,388 | 34,060 | 17,000 | 75,000 | 50,000 |
| Dates | 3,184 | 2,900 | 4,500 | 4,000 | 4,500 |
| Other fruits and vegetables | 1,505 | 2,404 | 8,530 | 21,000 | 65,500 |
| Total | 9,077 | 39,364 | 30,030 | 100,000 |
120,000 |
Tunisia exports organic products as well. Measured in Millions of Dinars (MDT), export value increased from 12 (6.6 million Euros) to 57 (31.4 million Euros) MDT within the past years or from 1,000 to 9,000 tonnes in weight. The most important increase was recorded for olive oil. Between 2002 and 2007, the total quantity which was exported increased from 180 to more than 6,000 tonnes.
| Exported goods in tonnes | 2002/2003 | 2003/2004 | 2004/2005 | 2005/2006 | 2006/2007 |
| Olive oil | 180 | 2100 | 1200 | 4000 | 6061 |
| Dates | 830 | 905 | 1400 | 1460 | 2298 |
| Various | 5 | 13 | 15 | 140 | 641 |
| Total | 1015 | 3018 | 2615 | 5600 | 9000 |
| Value MDT | - | 12 | - | 44 | 57 |
Organic crops get particular attention in Tunisia. A technical center dedicated to organic farming develops specific techniques. It concentrates on the breeding of insects used in organic pest control and on specific equipment for processing. It also participates in the approval and registration of various organic inputs and in updating the list of these inputs. The center also provides training.
So far, investment in organic agriculture is increasing slowly – from 2.5 (1.38 million Euros) MDT in 2001 to 11.3 (6.2 million Euros) MDT in 2007. More than 45% are invested in medicinal plants and herbs, organic olive oil is the second most important product (35 %). Vegetables only account for 1%. With 43% of investments, the region of Kairouan (Centre of Tunisia) is the most important region, followed by Tozeur in southern Tunisia (16% of investments) and Mahdia (East Coast of Tunisia) with 14%. The Tunisian government is supporting organic agriculture.
A growing number of Tunisian growers will be receiving organic certification within the next two to three years, according to Habib Zaghdane at Fruit Logistica. The country’s production volumes are relatively small, but great importance is placed on high quality, Mr. Zaghdane continues. France is the biggest importer of fruit and vegetables from Tunisia and dates, potatoes and citrus fruits account for the largest share, according to the Sous Directeur of the Tunisian Agence de Promotion des Investissements Agricoles. Germany is considered to be the largest importer of dates.
Tunisian produce is exported from February to June, which is ahead of the harvest in Southern Europe and after that in South America. Citrus fruits are exported throughout the winter months with 20,000 tonnes of global exports from September to March. Dates are supplied all year and account for around 18,000 tonnes.
http://www.africanmanager.com:80/articles/116306.html
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