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. "We lack water, like all farmers, and to get organic seeds and plants we have to do everything ourselves," she said. In 2001, just 16,000 hectares were dedicated to organic farming — a figure that has multiplied 20-fold over two decades. Despite its small size, Tunisia ranks 30th in the world and first in Africa in terms of area certified for organic farming. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, people began increasingly looking for organic products "because... they don't contain [artificial] chemicals", she added.

Source: The North Africa Journal November 11, 2021 09:24 UTC