11 Saharan Agriculture in the Algerian Oasis …
247
Plan (NCP 2018), National Land Use Plan (SNAT 2010) and the local-scale Wilaya
d’Adrar Development Plan (PAW 2015).
Inevitably oasis agriculture will thrive as modern agriculture thrives generally. For
example, a good part of the existing palm groves in the Adrar region is maintained by
members within the same oasis community, where individuals contribute according
to their experience (education, administration, trade, etc.) and work the grove in
addition to their primary livelihood, in the evening and on weekends, including
children and women.
Apart from the broadly-disseminated practice of market gardening, oasis people
dedicated themselves to tomato cultivation after the reopening of the Reggane factory.
The field sales contracts with farmers throughout the Wilaya allows the company to
guarantee the marketing of their products. The government of the Wilaya of Adrar
has even implemented an awareness campaign targeting farmers to drive massive
production of industrial tomatoes, with a guarantee of purchase by the factory. In
Tilouline (a large ksar located in the commune of In-Zeghmir), farmers report that
the tomato harvest lasts almost 4 months, a significant contribution to the income of
the oasis population there.
Tobacco cultivation is beginning to gain momentum in several palm groves in
Touat, a speculative crop in a region where the populations of Sub-Saharan African
origin have increased. Tobacco is in high demand for local use, and can be exported
to the Sahel countries. Tobacco growing is popular because it is profitable: a kilo of
semi-processed tobacco can sell for 600 to 1000 DA (Hadeid et al. 2018). Our field
missions over the last 5 years have enabled us to see the progressive extent of this
crop in terms of land use. “Dried tobacco leaves are marketed in their raw state. In
most cases, they are used to make snuff using traditional formulas. The contribution
of tobacco cultivation to local agricultural income is important, although harvesting
and processing remain traditional and artisanal” (Touzi1 and Merzaia-Blama 2008).
The revival of traditional oasis agriculture has contributed to the stabilization of a
significant number of families in the oasis population, but questions remain about the
sustainability of their crops and methods, which are more demanding of irrigation
water than the foggara can provide.
6 Solutions to Ensure Irrigation Water: New Challenges,
New Effects
Oases are one of the driest environments in the world, where rainfall is less than
40 mm/year. Moreover, heat waves have increased in frequency in the last 50 years
(1970–2019). However, this vast, arid space contains huge underground, though nonrenewable, water reserves. The underground reserves are created by nappe, known
as “Continental Intercalaire” or “Albian nappe”, a fossil reservoir that covers an area
of 1,100,000 km
2 over Algeria, Tunisia and Libya. This aquifer covers the entire
northern Algerian Sahara, where access to water between 120 and 150 m has enabled
247
Plan (NCP 2018), National Land Use Plan (SNAT 2010) and the local-scale Wilaya
d’Adrar Development Plan (PAW 2015).
Inevitably oasis agriculture will thrive as modern agriculture thrives generally. For
example, a good part of the existing palm groves in the Adrar region is maintained by
members within the same oasis community, where individuals contribute according
to their experience (education, administration, trade, etc.) and work the grove in
addition to their primary livelihood, in the evening and on weekends, including
children and women.
Apart from the broadly-disseminated practice of market gardening, oasis people
dedicated themselves to tomato cultivation after the reopening of the Reggane factory.
The field sales contracts with farmers throughout the Wilaya allows the company to
guarantee the marketing of their products. The government of the Wilaya of Adrar
has even implemented an awareness campaign targeting farmers to drive massive
production of industrial tomatoes, with a guarantee of purchase by the factory. In
Tilouline (a large ksar located in the commune of In-Zeghmir), farmers report that
the tomato harvest lasts almost 4 months, a significant contribution to the income of
the oasis population there.
Tobacco cultivation is beginning to gain momentum in several palm groves in
Touat, a speculative crop in a region where the populations of Sub-Saharan African
origin have increased. Tobacco is in high demand for local use, and can be exported
to the Sahel countries. Tobacco growing is popular because it is profitable: a kilo of
semi-processed tobacco can sell for 600 to 1000 DA (Hadeid et al. 2018). Our field
missions over the last 5 years have enabled us to see the progressive extent of this
crop in terms of land use. “Dried tobacco leaves are marketed in their raw state. In
most cases, they are used to make snuff using traditional formulas. The contribution
of tobacco cultivation to local agricultural income is important, although harvesting
and processing remain traditional and artisanal” (Touzi1 and Merzaia-Blama 2008).
The revival of traditional oasis agriculture has contributed to the stabilization of a
significant number of families in the oasis population, but questions remain about the
sustainability of their crops and methods, which are more demanding of irrigation
water than the foggara can provide.
6 Solutions to Ensure Irrigation Water: New Challenges,
New Effects
Oases are one of the driest environments in the world, where rainfall is less than
40 mm/year. Moreover, heat waves have increased in frequency in the last 50 years
(1970–2019). However, this vast, arid space contains huge underground, though nonrenewable, water reserves. The underground reserves are created by nappe, known
as “Continental Intercalaire” or “Albian nappe”, a fossil reservoir that covers an area
of 1,100,000 km
2 over Algeria, Tunisia and Libya. This aquifer covers the entire
northern Algerian Sahara, where access to water between 120 and 150 m has enabled