Hakim Alileche inspects a dripping batch of his prize-winning organic olive oil at the press (AFP/Ryad KRAMDI)
Abdellah CHEBALLAH
Sat, November 6, 2021
Hakim Alileche left a successful career in graphic design and moved to the Algerian countryside to produce "magic potion" -- organic olive oil that has won him international recognition.
The 48-year-old says he chose the Ain Oussera plateau for its cheap land and water supply.
His oil won first prize at the Dubai Olive Oil Competition in the Extra Virgin Early Harvest category in February 2021 and in May he won silver at the Japan Olive Oil Prize.
"These honours really reassured us because it means we were right," he said.
The farm of some 40 hectares (100 acres) has over 15,000 olive trees, and so far 9,000 have started producing.
"I started planting them bit by bit from 2005. I like farming and I've been fond of olive trees since I was little," he said.
"In Algeria, it's a sacred tree."
Producing organic olive oil "puts me right into this mood of respect and protection for the planet," he said.
He has visited several other producing countries -- Bosnia-Herzegovina, Greece, France and Italy to learn about production methods.
"These trees have never had any chemical treatment and I will do everything to make it stay that way," he said, clasping a goblet of oil freshly extracted from his modern Italian press.
"It's really food and medicine," he said, taking a sip of the fragrant liquid before heading out to supervise workers harvesting olives in the orchard.
A worker scrapes olives by hand from the branches to avoid damaging the trees
(AFP/Ryad KRAMDI)
- 'Very high quality' -
As with every year since entering into production, Alileche is picking his olives early, in a country where the harvest doesn't start until mid-November.
"An early harvest allows you to get all the benefits of the olives, all the natural antioxidants," he said.
The olives are scraped off the branches by hand to avoid damaging the trees, and fall on a tarpaulin on the ground to then be scooped into crates and hauled off to the press.
"Crushing them the same day avoids the olives oxidising," Alileche said.
Picked this early, the olives give a meagre amount of oil -- just eight litres per 100 kilogrammes (14 pints per 220 pounds). That compares to 18 litres for fully mature fruits.
Alileche stands in his grove during harvest -- the trees have never been treated chemically, he says
"Our oil is a very high quality that we want to get certified in Europe" as organic, Alileche said.
He has labelled his oil Dahbia, the name of both his mother and his wife.
The production process "respects the entire ecological system: no pollution, no fertilisers".
The oil's free acidity -- a measure of quality whereby the lower the figure, the better the oil -- is 0.16 percent, just a fifth of the 0.8 percent limit for Extra Virgin oil.
"At the mill, we don't touch the olives much," he said. "We wash them, press them and finally bottle the oil."
As with every year since entering into production, Alileche is picking his olives early, in a country where the harvest doesn't start until mid-November.
"An early harvest allows you to get all the benefits of the olives, all the natural antioxidants," he said.
The olives are scraped off the branches by hand to avoid damaging the trees, and fall on a tarpaulin on the ground to then be scooped into crates and hauled off to the press.
"Crushing them the same day avoids the olives oxidising," Alileche said.
Picked this early, the olives give a meagre amount of oil -- just eight litres per 100 kilogrammes (14 pints per 220 pounds). That compares to 18 litres for fully mature fruits.
Alileche stands in his grove during harvest -- the trees have never been treated chemically, he says
"Our oil is a very high quality that we want to get certified in Europe" as organic, Alileche said.
He has labelled his oil Dahbia, the name of both his mother and his wife.
The production process "respects the entire ecological system: no pollution, no fertilisers".
The oil's free acidity -- a measure of quality whereby the lower the figure, the better the oil -- is 0.16 percent, just a fifth of the 0.8 percent limit for Extra Virgin oil.
"At the mill, we don't touch the olives much," he said. "We wash them, press them and finally bottle the oil."
An employee shows a handful of olives at the press ahead of oil production, which Alileche says "respects the entire ecological system"
That breaks with more traditional practices, he added.
"Before, people wouldn't wash the olives and they would sit exposed for long periods in bags in the open air, which changed the taste of the oil."
Alileche's farm benefits from a drip irrigation system, but he fears that climate change could threaten his livelihood, bringing both drought and early summer hailstorms.
"A quarter of an hour of hail and it's all gone," he said. "You'd have to wait five years for the olive tree to recover."
abh/fka/ezz/par/dwo/oho
"Before, people wouldn't wash the olives and they would sit exposed for long periods in bags in the open air, which changed the taste of the oil."
Alileche's farm benefits from a drip irrigation system, but he fears that climate change could threaten his livelihood, bringing both drought and early summer hailstorms.
"A quarter of an hour of hail and it's all gone," he said. "You'd have to wait five years for the olive tree to recover."
abh/fka/ezz/par/dwo/oho
Organic farmers find fertile ground in North Africa
Out of 250 categories of organic products grown in Tunisia, around 60 are exported
She added that only five percent of the country's two million hectares of olive groves had been treated with pesticides, meaning the remainder could potentially win organic certification.
"It's a sector with ongoing and growing international demand," said Maamer.
And due to the coronavirus pandemic, people began increasingly looking for organic products "because... they don't contain (artificial) chemicals", she added.
While there is strong demand in the US and Europe for bio products, they are also gaining attention among 25-30 year-old Tunisians "who are well-informed" about their benefits, she added.
As the market grows, Tunisia hopes that by 2030 the sector will contribute to help develop tourism, renewables and handicrafts, she said.
- Morocco, Algeria trail behind -
Bio farming is also on the rise in Morocco, where the area of farmland certified for organic production has more than doubled since 2011 to reach over 10,300 hectares.
However, "that's far behind the potential of a farming country like Morocco," said Reda Tahiri, who heads a union for organic farmers.
The majority of the country's olive, citrus and almond groves are in the southern area around Marrakech and near the capital Rabat in the north-west.
But given the country's 300,000 hectares of aromatic and medicinal plants and the iconic argan tree, there is potential for going organic.
Moroccan authorities are trying to develop the sector with the Green Morocco Plan, which helps farmers cover the costs of getting certified.
For exports to the European Union to be labelled as organic, they must be inspected once a year by an EU-licenced certification agency.
Tahiri said certification for export to European or North American markets can cost up to 1,000 euros ($1,115) per hectare annually.
"So the total cost of production is higher than in conventional agriculture, but without the producer getting any guarantees of higher prices for the products," he said.
As well as state help on these costs, Tahiri says that for the organics market to develop, "we need to raise awareness among consumers and ensure better profit margins for producers".
Morocco's agriculture ministry said it has prioritised organic agriculture and is hoping to reach 100,000 hectares of certified farmland by 2030, with 900,000 tonnes of produce per year -- two-thirds of it for export.
By comparison, Algeria is trailing.
The semi-official economics and development think tank CREAD said that in 2013 just 1,200 hectares were being farmed organically.
Although there are no recent statistics, in the past few years some shops have been offering customers organic vegetable boxes delivered straight from small producers.
kl-ko-abh-fka-isb/par/hkb/oho
Out of 250 categories of organic products grown in Tunisia, around 60 are exported
(AFP/FETHI BELAID)
Kaouther Larbi and Françoise Kadri with AFP bureaus in Rabat and Algeria
Sat, November 6, 2021,
Proudly displaying her freshly picked pomegranates, Tunisian farmer Sarah Shili says going organic is "the future of farming" -- 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 "respects nature".
The farm's revenues have surged thanks to strong demand and the growth of online sales, multiplying five times in as many years to hit 100,000 euros in 2020.
That is despite the higher price of organic products in a middle-income country where many people's 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.
"We lack water, like all farmers, and to get organic seeds and plants we have to do everything ourselves," 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 -- a figure that has multiplied 20-fold over two decades.
The number of producers and venders has grown at a similar pace to some 8,000, said Samia Maamer, in charge of organic products at the agriculture ministry.
Maamer said the sector has helped diversify the country's economy and now makes up 13 percent of food exports.
- 'Tunisia's favourable climate' -
Out of 250 categories of organic products grown in Tunisia, around 60 are exported -- mainly olive oil but also dates, aromatic and medicinal plants as well as some vegetables and fruit.
Despite its small size, Tunisia ranks 30th in the world and first in Africa in terms of area certified for organic farming.
Maamer said that apart from its chronic water shortages, "the climate in Tunisia is very favourable" to the trade.
Kaouther Larbi and Françoise Kadri with AFP bureaus in Rabat and Algeria
Sat, November 6, 2021,
Proudly displaying her freshly picked pomegranates, Tunisian farmer Sarah Shili says going organic is "the future of farming" -- 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 "respects nature".
The farm's revenues have surged thanks to strong demand and the growth of online sales, multiplying five times in as many years to hit 100,000 euros in 2020.
That is despite the higher price of organic products in a middle-income country where many people's 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.
"We lack water, like all farmers, and to get organic seeds and plants we have to do everything ourselves," 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 -- a figure that has multiplied 20-fold over two decades.
The number of producers and venders has grown at a similar pace to some 8,000, said Samia Maamer, in charge of organic products at the agriculture ministry.
Maamer said the sector has helped diversify the country's economy and now makes up 13 percent of food exports.
- 'Tunisia's favourable climate' -
Out of 250 categories of organic products grown in Tunisia, around 60 are exported -- mainly olive oil but also dates, aromatic and medicinal plants as well as some vegetables and fruit.
Despite its small size, Tunisia ranks 30th in the world and first in Africa in terms of area certified for organic farming.
Maamer said that apart from its chronic water shortages, "the climate in Tunisia is very favourable" to the trade.
She added that only five percent of the country's two million hectares of olive groves had been treated with pesticides, meaning the remainder could potentially win organic certification.
"It's a sector with ongoing and growing international demand," said Maamer.
And due to the coronavirus pandemic, people began increasingly looking for organic products "because... they don't contain (artificial) chemicals", she added.
While there is strong demand in the US and Europe for bio products, they are also gaining attention among 25-30 year-old Tunisians "who are well-informed" about their benefits, she added.
As the market grows, Tunisia hopes that by 2030 the sector will contribute to help develop tourism, renewables and handicrafts, she said.
- Morocco, Algeria trail behind -
Bio farming is also on the rise in Morocco, where the area of farmland certified for organic production has more than doubled since 2011 to reach over 10,300 hectares.
However, "that's far behind the potential of a farming country like Morocco," said Reda Tahiri, who heads a union for organic farmers.
The majority of the country's olive, citrus and almond groves are in the southern area around Marrakech and near the capital Rabat in the north-west.
But given the country's 300,000 hectares of aromatic and medicinal plants and the iconic argan tree, there is potential for going organic.
Moroccan authorities are trying to develop the sector with the Green Morocco Plan, which helps farmers cover the costs of getting certified.
For exports to the European Union to be labelled as organic, they must be inspected once a year by an EU-licenced certification agency.
Tahiri said certification for export to European or North American markets can cost up to 1,000 euros ($1,115) per hectare annually.
"So the total cost of production is higher than in conventional agriculture, but without the producer getting any guarantees of higher prices for the products," he said.
As well as state help on these costs, Tahiri says that for the organics market to develop, "we need to raise awareness among consumers and ensure better profit margins for producers".
Morocco's agriculture ministry said it has prioritised organic agriculture and is hoping to reach 100,000 hectares of certified farmland by 2030, with 900,000 tonnes of produce per year -- two-thirds of it for export.
By comparison, Algeria is trailing.
The semi-official economics and development think tank CREAD said that in 2013 just 1,200 hectares were being farmed organically.
Although there are no recent statistics, in the past few years some shops have been offering customers organic vegetable boxes delivered straight from small producers.
kl-ko-abh-fka-isb/par/hkb/oho
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