Olive Harvesting in Sfax

Tunisia
Prepared by : Mr Makram Zineddine & Mr Mohamed Zineddine

Supervised by : Expert Mr Mohamed Ksibi

Table of contents

01 02 03
History of Olive in
Oilve Farm of
Tunisia Oilive in Sfax
‘’Zineddine Family’’

04 05
Harvasting tools Photos
 1.History of Olive in Tunisia

The history of olive oil is intertwined with that of

Tunisia. Indeed, many Mediterranean civilizations took turns throughout history to
spread the culture of the olive tree: Phoenician, Greek, Carthaginian, Roman and
Arabic.

The olive cultivation in Tunisia dates from the eighth century BC. AD, even before

the founding of Carthage by Queen Dido. The Phoenicians were the pioneers
of olive cultivation in North Africa.

At the time of the Carthaginians, a true culture of the olive tree had begun to spread
following advantages granted to farmers who created the olive groves.

The Romans developed the more olive cultivation by increasing irrigation on this

earth to rain scarce, the technique of oil extraction as evidenced by
the excavations at El Jem and Sbeitla and the numerous Roman
mosaics discoveries in Sousse.
2. Production of Olive in Sfax
First national rank in the production of olives :

Olive groves occupy 356,000 ha (i.e. 83% of the total agricultural area and 20% of the
national area of olive groves).
8 million vines produce an average of 201,000 tons/year, which represents 20% of
national production.
The production of olives for the 2019-2020 season reached 325,000 tons which made
it possible to extract 71,000 tons of olive oil
Henshir “Al-Shaal”: This is the second largest olive grove in the world after
California.
The number of trees exceeds 380,0004, some of which have been planted since 1920,
spread over 22 villages in the delegations of "Bir Ali bin Khalifa", "Agereb",
"Al-Mahress" and "AlGhrayba".Henshir "Bishka":
It lists approximately 24,505 hectares, of which 90% are devoted to olive trees, i.e.
approximately 37,000 olive trees, spread over 9 plantations on the estate, as well as a
certain number of fruit trees.
2. Production of Olive in Sfax
The olive grove in the Sfax region is characterized by:

Its history: the age of the plantation of olive trees and its expansion, especially
during the colonial period thanks to the intervention of centenarians and the local
population.
Soil quality: the availability of arable land, estimated at around 521,000
hectares6, most of which is used for agriculture, especially for planting, due to its
sandy soil in some areas and petrified in others.
The climate: the dominance of the sesame climate, which is characterized by a
lack of rain and its retention in some cases for a long period, which is compatible
with rainfed plantations, especially olive trees.

Olive groves provide more than 700 jobs (technical, administrative, and other) and
the number of non-continental workers can exceed 3,000 during the olive harvest
season7.The area of land planted with olive trees and fruit trees in 2020 amounted
to approximately 420,000 hectares, including 356,000 hectares of olive trees.
The number of olives has grown from 380,000 olive origins in 1881 to around 8
million olive origins today.
The olive trees of Dahir de Sfax provide more than 23% of Tunisian national
production.
3.Oilive farm of ‘’Zineddine Family ’’
Geographical position in sfax :
22 km from town center Sfax
 Our Oilve Farm of ‘’ Zineddine’’

Surface : 37 764 m2
Number of olive tree : 780
Olive Varieties in the farm : Chemlali / Koroneiki
Olive Varieties in the farm : Chemlali / Koroneiki
Olive Varieties in the farm : Chemlali / Koroneiki

Organoleptic characteristics of the Oil

At the sensory level, the Chemlali Sfax olives give at the beginning of maturity a
very fruity oil, not very bitter and not very spicy with essentially aromas of green
almond, fresh grass and rarely apple. At full maturity, the oil of Chemlali Sfax
becomes sweet, with a slightly fruity taste and the aroma of green almond is
replaced by that of dry almond or marzipan.

Chemical Characteristics of the Oil

Olive Varieties in the farm : Chemlali / Koroneiki

Organoleptic characteristics of the Oil

This variety is the most widespread in Greece. It is mainly grown in the

Peloponnese and Crete. Introduced in Tunisia in 1999.
This competition oil is quite intense with pronounced aromas of herbs and
freshly cut olive leaves accompanied by delicate notes of green apple and
almond. All this complexity is well reflected on the palate with quite persistent
bitter notes and a moderately intense spiciness. It is characterized by its
important antioxidant action due to a high rate of polyphenols.

Chemical Characteristics of the Oil

Production records in our Farm November 2022:
Number of olive tree : 780
Number of age : 8 years
% Chemlali olive tree : 60%
% Koronaiki olive tree : 40%
Production quantity of olives : 5,1 ton
Quantity of leaves : 200 kg
Production quantity of vegetal oil : 918 Kg of virgin Oil
Fat content / fresh weight : 18 %
Harvasting period : 16 /11/2022 to 22/11/2022
Numbers of workers : 8 ( 4 mens + 4 womens )
Numbers of machines : 2
( Olive Picking Machine from MUMTAZ Comapany + Heavy-duty special harvester SP 492 from STIHL
Company )
Number of days : 6 days
 Harvasting machines :
Olive Picking Machine from MUMTAZ :
 Harvasting machines :
Olive Picking Machine from MUMTAZ :

Power source Battery 12 V DC 60 Ah

Voltage 12V DC

Lenght 3 meter

Weight 2.7 kg

Lenght of power cable 15 m

Beat frequence 820/min

Rated power 400 W

Noise pressure level 74 dB (A)

Noise power level 102 dB(A)

Vibration 7.23 m/s2

Harvasting machines :
Heavy-duty special harvester SP 492 from STIHL
Harvasting tools :
Heavy-duty special harvester SP 492 from STIHL
Photos:
Photos:
Photos:
THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION