Drought overtakes Tunisian tomato growers

Four consecutive years of drought have overtaken Tunisian growers and forced them to give up some crops in favor of others, partly prompted by government measures in this direction. Selmi Mohameddhia, an agronomist in Tunisia, comments on the situation. Selmi explains: "The least we can say is that the agricultural season in Tunisia has been very difficult due to water stress, which has affected the cultivated areas and yields. The whole Tunisian territory has been classified as "at risk", except some places, especially near the Algerian border, thanks to the water level linked to this neighboring country, which has led to a 50% drop in volume for all crops combined." Selmi continues: “The damage is evident in nursery crops, but the decrease in density has helped to improve the quality of the fruit. For products from the cucumber family, such as melons and watermelons, the decrease reaches 60% of the area Plants from the nightshade family, such as tomatoes and peppers, have shrunk ...