Traditionally the date growing season begins in January when the remains of the previous harvest are cleared off the palms. Date palms are dioecious, i.e. male and female plants exist separately. For each male palm 100 female palms are planted in the oases. In March, when the spadices are ready, the flowers have to be pollinated manually, which is done by pulling cloths saturated with pollen over the flower clusters.

A few months later, as harvest approaches, the fruit clusters grow heavy and are hung in such a way as to allow the fruits to develop really well. As ripe dates are very sensitive to moisture, the ripening fruit has to be protected from rain. From the beginning of September the clusters are therefore covered with reusable plastic bags. At harvest, from mid October, the dates are gathered by hand. The palms are climbed for any necessary care and for harvesting; during the course of one year this can be about 10 times per palm!

As a link between farmers and customers, gebana Maghreb currently offers 39 date producers support regarding quality assurance and advice on production.
In line with the necessary internal control systems for organic certification all farmers are visited several times a year. These visits serve two purposes; on the one hand, data regarding the anticipated yield, the use of goat and sheep dung and compliance with organic regulations is collected; on the other hand, the farmers are given advice on the best time for harvesting, the development of organic cultivation methods and on composting. Whilst dung as a substitute for fertilisers is already being used widely, the organic control of weeds, which compete with the palms for already scarce water, poses a big challenge for the farmers.

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