According to the Tunisian Press Agency (TAP), Tunisia ranks 2nd in Africa and 24th in the world when it comes to organic farming. Areas dedicated to this farming have boomed from 285,000 hectares in 2008 compared with 34,000 ha only in 2003.
The products derived from organic farming in Tunisia are mainly, olive oil, jojoba oil, almonds, dates, potatoes, artichokes, eggplants and products derived from aromatic and medicinal plants.
Tunisian Essential oils are known on the international market especially in Europe and the USA. The main essential oils produced in Tunisia are: neroli, rosemary, white sage, marjoram and citrus essences.
Aromatic and medicinal plants cultivated in Tunisia produce over 2000 tons of raw materials in the form of leaves, flowers, fruits, seeds and roots. Partnership projects in organic aromatic and medicinal plants were created with an investment exceeding 25.8 million dinars . The production is fully intended for export.
The volume of production of organic crops reached 170,000 tons in 2008 compared with only 30,000 tons in 2004. This production helped generate nearly 64 million dinars of exports' revenues in 2008 compared with 3.3 million Tunisian dinars. Exports consist essentially of olive oil (48 million dinars), dates (12 million dinars) and other varied products (4 million dinars).
The presidential programme for the 2009-2014 period plans to double areas dedicated to organic farming by raising them to 500,000 ha in 2014.
© Tunisia Online News 2009
