DJEBBA, Tunisia — High in the hills of
northwestern
Tunisia, farmers are tending thousands of fig trees with a unique
system of terracing they hope will protect them from ever-harsher droughts.
اضافة اعلان
But the “hanging gardens” of Djebba El-Olia have
been put to the test this year as the North African country sweltered through
its hottest July since the 1950s.
That has exacerbated a long drought that has left
Tunisia’s reservoirs at just a third of their capacity.
The gardens are supplied with water from two springs
high in the mountains.
The water is fed into the orchards by a network of
canals that are opened and shut at set times, according to the size of the
orchard.
Crucially, a wide variety of crops provides
resilience and in-built pest control, unlike the monocultures that dominate
modern agriculture and require huge inputs of pesticides to survive.
“We grow figs but also other trees like quinces,
olives, and pomegranates, and beneath them we plant a wide range of greens and
legumes,” said activist Farida Djebbi as insects buzzed between thyme, mint,
and rosemary flowers.
Djebbi pointed out some of the channels, which
irrigate the area’s 300 hectares of steeply sloping orchards.
In 2020, the
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) recognized the system as an example of “innovative and resilient agroforestry”,
adding it to an elite list of just 67 “Globally Important Agricultural Heritage
Systems”.
The system “has been able to adapt and take
advantage of an inhospitable topography”, the UN agency said.
“Through the use of natural geological formations
and the use of stones, local communities have been able to transform the
landscape into fertile and productive lands.”
The FAO praised the diversity of local crop
varieties grown by the area’s farmers, as well as their use of wild plants to
repel potential pests and of livestock to “plough” and fertilize the soil.
While nobody knows exactly how old the system is,
human habitation in the area predates the Carthaginian civilization founded in
the ninth century BC.
But while it may have endured for generations, the
system is under threat as climate change kicks in.
Activist Tawfiq El-Rajehi, 60, says the flow of
water from springs irrigating the area has dropped off noticeably, particularly
in the past two years.
Unlike in previous years, the surrounding peaks no
longer get covered in snow each winter, and the leaves of many of the trees in
the lower part of Djebba are yellowing and sick.
Rajehi, a teacher at the local school, said climate
change and low rainfall were compounded by another factor: farmers favoring
cash crops.
Nevertheless, residents say they are proud of their
heritage.
Farmer Lotfi El-Zarmani, 52, said there was also
growing demand for Djebba figs, which were given a protected designation of
origin by the agriculture ministry in 2012 — still the only Tunisian fruit to
enjoy the certification.
“They’re getting a reputation, plus exporting them
has become easier, plus they bring higher prices,” Zarmani said, adding that
most exports go to the Arab Gulf or neighboring Libya.
Rajehi’s daughter, university student Chaima, put on
protective gloves as she set out to harvest the fruit from her family’s small
lot.
“Figs are more than a fruit for us. We’re born here
among the fig trees and we grow up with them, we learn from a young age how to
look after them,” the 20-year-old said.
Djebbi is working to persuade farmers to preserve
traditional ways of processing the products harvested in the area.
She is working with 10 other women on a cooperative
that distils essence from wildflowers, dries figs, and produces fig and
mulberry jam.
“Products we learnt how to make from our mothers and
grandmothers are becoming popular because they’re of such high quality,” she
said.
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