In north-western Tunisia, growers are tending thousands of fig trees. A wide variety of crops provides resilience and in-built pest control, unlike the monocultures that dominate modern agriculture and require huge inputs of pesticides to survive.
The FAO praised the diversity of local crop varieties grown by the area's farmers, as well as their use of wild plants to repel potential pests and of livestock to "plough" and fertilize the soil.
Thus, some farmers have moved to growing more figs instead of less water-intensive crops because figs have become more profitable in recent years. They know the necessity of keeping a good balance and a large variety of plants.
Source: globaltimes.cn