Organic farmers find fertile ground in North Africa
- Date: 07-Nov-2021
- Source: Arab News
- Sector:Agriculture
- Country:Gulf
Organic farmers find fertile ground in North Africa
TUNIS: Proudly displaying her freshly picked pomegranates, Tunisian farmer Sarah Shili says going organic is âthe future of farmingâ â and as demand surges in North Africa and beyond, the sector is blooming. Shili runs Domaine Elixir Bio, a 94-hectare (230-acre) farm near Tunis that produces organic-certified vegetable, fruit and cereal crops in a way she said ârespects nature.â The farmâs revenues have surged thanks to strong demand and the growth of online sales, multiplying five times in as many years to hit â¬100,000 in 2020. That is despite the higher price of organic products in a middle-income country where many peopleâs wallets have been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic and years of economic crisis. Indeed, with export demand also on the rise, Shili says the main challenges are on the supply side. âWe lack water, like all farmers, and to get organic seeds and plants we have to do everything ourselves,â she told AFP. Despite the challenges, the sector has surged in Tunisia since the turn of the millennium. In 2001, just 16,000 hectares were dedicated to organic farming â a figure that has multiplied 20-fold over two decades. The number of producers and venders has grown at