The olive growing industry, a strategic sector
In Algeria, the agriculture and agribusiness sectors are of major importance in the national economy. While Algeria is seeking to diversify its economy in order to reduce its dependence on fluctuating revenues from hydrocarbons, the agriculture sector is penalised by a heavy dependence on imports and the general weakness of production, processing and marketing systems.
Olive oil production is an important part of social, economic and cultural life, especially in the three wilayas covered by the project, Béjaïa, Tizi Ouzou and Bouira, which alone account for 50% of the national olive growing area. The production mainly covers local consumption requirements and is mostly based on small mixed family farms. Furthermore, the joint ownership of land, difficulties in accessing loans and lack of appropriate training hold back the development of these family farms and their integration into the olive growing industry, despite the fact that the Government considers it as a strategic sector.
Our operational strategy
The Agriculture Sector Support Programme (PASA) is tapping into the strong potential for the development of olive growing in Soummam Valley to lay the groundwork for sustainable agriculture in the region. It is working on two main components:
• Increase the competitiveness of economic operators in the olive growing sector, upstream and downstream, and the integration of cross-cutting issues related to gender and the environment;
• Improve governance at the central and regional levels of the sector through an increased participation of all the stakeholders and a more effective flow of information.
In partnership with the Algerian Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, PASA will implement capacity building, training, assistance and organisation activities for producers and small businesses and activities to strengthen technical and research institutes that support the sector.
Improving productivity, product quality and professionalisation in the “upstream” segment
Due to the traditional and family nature of farms, olive growing is often a sideline activity for households. Most of the oil is consumed on the farm and extracted on-site or in small local crushing units. To develop these farms, olive growers therefore generally need to acquire new know-how (grafting, pruning, varieties…) or use service providers.
To improve productivity, the quality of agricultural products and the professionalisation of olive growers, PASA is developing partnerships with:
• The Department of Agricultural Services (DSA) in order to strengthen the skills of the agricultural technical advisors in olive growing, which will allow them to offer appropriate support and advice to olive growers in the region;
• The Technical Institute of Fruit and Vine Growing (ITAFV) to make it a regional reference and training centre in olive growing;
• The Institute for Specialised Agricultural Technology and Resources (ITMAS), so that it can provide specific training in the olive growing sector, particularly in mountain regions.
Improving the competitiveness and adaptation to markets of stakeholders downstream in the olive growing sector
Downstream in the sector, most of the oil mills are traditional and produce highly acidic lampante oil, which is particularly appreciated in the region but difficult to sell on national or international markets. The upgrading of these oil mills aims to increase the crushing (grinding) capacity, reduce the duration of the on-site storage of olives, improve the quantity and quality of the oil and, finally, access new markets. The olive oil is marketed via an informal network (family, neighbours, acquaintances): there is no structured distribution channel, which compromises the traceability and transparency of prices. The lack of structure in the sector and poor coordination between stakeholders upstream and downstream account for the low profitability in the sector.
To address these issues, PASA will provide organisational and technical assistance to a sample of oil mills and will support the development of olive oil packaging and marketing services. It will also involve upgrading then promoting ITAFV’s analysis laboratory to allow the quality of the oil produced to be characterised and facilitate its marketing in a formal network.
Promoting sustainable water resources management and combating soil pollution
While the three project wilayas currently face few difficulties in accessing water, there has been increasing pollution for several years due to the discharge into the environment of vegetable water (water from oil extraction) and spent olives (olive skin and pits) and an uncontrolled use of irrigation. Regulations are often not respected, as producers do not have access to wastewater treatment plants or an agricultural waste recycling unit.
Several pilot projects for water catchment and storage and the recycling of vegetable water and spent olives will be launched on a few farms, before promoting them among olive growers.
PASA will also help INRAA (National Institute of Agronomic Research of Algeria) and ITAFV develop the variety collection.
Improving governance in the sector
The overall competitiveness of the sector also depends on good governance and effective coordination and complementarity between olive growers, oil mills and public and professional stakeholders (institutes, ministries…). The diagnostic is often that there is not enough communication between each of these stakeholders due to the fact that there is no space for discussion and cooperation, which would be conducive to exchanges of information and peer learning.
In addition to producing surveys and outreach materials to improve the dissemination of knowledge and good practices, PASA will strengthen the olive oil inter-branch organisation and professional organisations (associations, groups, etc.) and will contribute to promoting them among olive growers.
Adopting a gender approach
In Algeria, agricultural production is traditionally an exclusively masculine domain, but is increasingly in the hands of women who handle its management. The project will contribute to the participation of women and to building their technical and entrepreneurial capacities.
In late 2019, a team of experts was mobilised to study the situation of women in the sector and make recommendations to PASA. The programme was specifically presented and discussing during International Day for Rural Women, which gathered over 80 women in the premises of ITMAS.
Find out more (in French): https://pasa-algerie.org/
Renforcer les capacités des oléiculteurs et oléifacteurs
La montée en compétences des acteurs, oléiculteurs et oléifacteurs, s’est faite grâce au dispositif d’appui-conseil qui a mobilisé 60 conseillers en amont et aval de la filière pour accompagner les professionnels de la filière.
La mobilisation de l’expertise algérienne (17 formateurs) pour former ces conseillers à travers un dispositif de formation en cascade s’est révélée une démarche innovante, fédérative et durable. Ce dispositif a permis d’intervenir sur les enjeux majeurs de la filière :
• en amont, sur la taille, l’entretien, la préservation et la régénération des vergers pour une production quantitative rentable ;
• en aval, sur la récolte, le stockage et le conditionnement des olives pour une trituration de qualité.
Le
réseau de conseillers maille aujourd’hui la filière oléicole de la vallée de la Soummam pour diffuser les bonnes pratiques qui conditionnent l’amélioration qualitative et quantitative de la filière.
Valoriser la qualité de l’huile d’olive
Le laboratoire de Takerietz de l’Institut technique de l'arboriculture fruitière et de la vigne (ITAFV) a bénéficié d’importants investissements. Un processus d’accréditation permet de garantir la qualité de l’huile d’olive algérienne, grâce à l’organisme ALGERAC et à l’agrément du Conseil oléicole international.
Ce site d’envergure nationale est un grand pas en avant pour la filière, il va permettre de
valoriser la qualité de l’huile d’olive algérienne,
faciliter son exportation, et sera indispensable pour
un meilleur contrôle des huiles commercialisées sur le marché national.
Protéger l’eau, le climat et l’environnement, des enjeux aux cœur du projet PASA
La dimension environnementale du projet a été déclinée à travers différentes interventions. Les sites pilotes constituent un réservoir de bonnes pratiques de gestion de l’eau, pour lutter contre les changements climatiques et accélérer la résilience des vergers.
La caractérisation moléculaire des variétés algériennes confirme l’existence d’un patrimoine oléicole pour identifier les variétés adaptées et résilientes aux changements climatiques tout comme celles plus endogènes qui possèdent des qualités organoleptiques intéressantes d’un point de vue santé.
Enfin l’appel à projets a permis de
valoriser les coproduits des huiles d’olives (grignons, margines). Leur stockage et traitement diminuent les impacts environnementaux tout en présentant des opportunités économiques.
Faciliter et améliorer l’accès aux marchés
Enfin, en parallèle de l’amélioration de la qualité de l’huile d’olive, le conditionnement et la commercialisation des huiles sont au centre des préoccupations de la filière et constituent une voie importante de développement. Les espaces d’échange entre acteurs, la participation au Salon international de l'agroalimentaire, les études sur le marketing et le packaging, le soutien aux dynamiques collectives de transformation (coopérative) ou d’achats groupés et de commercialisation (groupe export) sont autant de leviers pertinents pour faciliter et améliorer l’accès aux marchés.
En savoir plus : https://pasa-algerie.org/
Consulter les publications du projet
