Forte demande sur les produits maraichers de montagne

Strong demand for mountain market garden products

Blida

Mountain market garden products are very popular with Blidean consumers, some of whom have become addicted to the quality of taste, freshness and organic nature of the products. These products benefit from a craze for more sustainable and localized consumption patterns, thus meeting consumer expectations in local or direct sales markets. But to be able to buy all kinds of organic vegetables, you have to get up early in the morning, because mountain farmers are the first to open the fruit and vegetable market and the first to leave it.
The latter, as soon as they begin to display their goods on the sidewalks in front of the market, they are approached by buyers, who snatch up everything: parsley, coriander, mint, eggs, thyme, celery, honey and other fruits such as grenadine, grapefruit, carob and so many other medicinal plants.
The young Abdelhamid, a mountain farmer, specialized in the cultivation and sale of parsley, coriander, mint and aromatic plants of the apiaceae family, finds his income in this niche. Its presence in the market is essential for certain consumers who appreciate its naturally grown products, giving off this good smell.
Other mountain dwellers, specialized in poultry farming, offer several varieties of eggs, chickens, turkeys and even rabbits for sale. It must be said that in recent years, local producers in the mountainous region have entered into competition to sell their crops. This trend benefits consumers who benefit from purchasing natural products at competitive prices.
Mountain agriculture in Blida is expanding, supported by state programs, such as the distribution of fruit plants and improved road infrastructure. This activity is concentrated in the areas of Hammam Melouane, Larbaâ, Bougara and Souhane, and is increasingly oriented towards fruit crops, with a growing interest in products such as almond trees, fig trees, pistachio trees and carob trees, as well as olive trees. State support for the development of mountain agriculture has encouraged hundreds of mountain dwellers who fled their homes during the Black Decade to return to cultivate their land, abandoned for two decades.
In Blida, agriculture in mountainous areas has become an important source of income and employment for rural mountain populations. Some young people have even invested, especially in the dairy products sector by manufacturing all kinds of cheese. They even opened businesses in the town of Blida to sell cheese and other local craft products.
To encourage agriculture in mountainous areas, nearly 8,000 fruit trees were distributed at the beginning of the year to 57 active farmers in the commune of Bougara (Blida).
This program essentially aims to open up these regions and stabilize their inhabitants.
To this end, the Local Forest Conservation, announced on the occasion, that the agricultural chamber has more than 300 rural women active in agriculture, including the cultivation of mushrooms, the extraction of natural oil, fruit trees, citrus fruits, vegetables of all kinds, poultry farming and the agro-food industry. Agriculture in mountainous areas is booming in the wilaya of Blida where local authorities are using all necessary means to further develop this sector, which creates employment and wealth.
Rachid Lounas