Kasserine prickly pear production drops 60% due to pest infestation

Prickly pear producers in Tunisia's Kasserine governorate have issued an urgent appeal for government intervention as the Asian cochineal insect devastates local plantations. In the Zelfane Basin, which covers the Thala, Foussana, and El Ayoun regions, production has plummeted from 250,000 tonnes in the previous season to approximately 100,000 tonnes.

Mohamed Rachid Bennani, president of the National Association for the Development of Prickly Pear, warned that the industry—a vital income source for tens of thousands of families—faces potential extinction. While some moderately damaged orchards remain salvageable, Bennani criticized the Ministry of Agriculture for a slow response, specifically citing delays in public procurement processes for treatment and the removal of infected plants.

Without immediate collective action and the provision of sufficient pesticides, producers fear there may be no harvest at all in the upcoming season.