A Historical and Social Insight of Olive Groves and Landscapes in Tunisia

The olive tree was brought from the Middle East to Tunisia by the Phoenicians. Many Mediterranean civilizations, Phoenicians, Greeks, Carthaginians, Romans, and then Arabs took turns throughout history in a tradition handed down from father to son to transmit the know-how of the culture of the olive tree. Tunisia has thus become the heir to 2000 years of know-how in the cultivation of olive trees. Tunisia’s olive resources are estimated at over 118 million olive trees, grown on 1.9 million ha, of which 251,569 ha is used for certified organic crops. The average production is 176,250 tons of olive oil per year over the past 5 years. The quantity of olive oil exported represents around 70% of national production. The olive tree contributes to the income of 309,000 farmers and generates 50 million workdays per year, which is equivalent to more than 20% of employability in agriculture. Mean orchard density in Tunisia ranges between 100 and 150 trees per hectare in irrigated orchards and 40 trees per hectare in rainfed orchards farmed for oil production. As a rule, there are 100 olive trees per hectare in the north, compared to 60 trees per hectare in the center and 20 trees per hectare in the south. In 2000, a “high-density” system (> 1000 olive trees per hectare) was introduced in Tunisia by private entrepreneurs. Modern agriculture is relatively intensive. It is located in the irrigated areas of the fertile north as well as in some of the most favorable regions of the center. Traditional agriculture employs extensive rainfed farming techniques on poor and marginal land in the south and parts of the center of the country. It depends only on precipitation. In the sector of table olives, although smaller than the area used for olive oil production, table olives are mainly cultivated in the northern and central part of Tunisia and cover 25,000 ha.