Tunisian government moves to assist farmers

2008-05-16

Rising food costs have prompted broad measures from the Tunisian government to help the agricultural sector achieve self-sufficiency.

By Jamel Arfaoui for Magharebia in Tunis – 16/05/08

[File] Rising prices of grains and other staple foods in Tunisia have prompted the government to encourage increased domestic production through grants, tax incentives and state-backed insurance.

In response to soaring food prices, the Tunisian cabinet adopted a package of measures on Monday (May 12th) to encourage farmers and owners of agricultural land to work "towards the realisation of food security".

The cabinet aims to increase irrigated land dedicated to major crops from 80,000 hectares to 120,000 hectares by 2011. The plan also offers grants, tax exemptions and bank incentives to farmers. The state will also bear the insurance fees on seasonal loans for major crops for a period of three years.

Small farmer Mokhtar Rehimi said the new measures "will open the door of hope for us to proceed with our agricultural projects".

Economic experts say rising food prices in Tunisia are due to the cost of grain on the world markets. Tunisia currently imports 50% of its total grain needs, explaining the desire to achieve self-sufficiency.

During an agricultural co-operation symposium hosted by the Tunisian capital May 13th and attended by a group of representatives from the European Union, Tunisia's Minister of Agriculture and Water Resources Mohamed Habib Haddad acknowledged that there are obstacles impeding Tunisian self-sufficiency in producing durum wheat.

"Sixty per cent of farmers are still depending on the manual sowing of seeds," he said.

According to Haddad, about 5 or 6 million quintals are wasted every year because of the lack of machination, outdated machines, inadequate training and youth's aversion to working in the agricultural sector.

Indeed, 50% of people engaged in the agricultural field are above 60 years old, Farmers Union President Mabrouk El Bahri said in an interview May 14th with the weekly L’Observateur.

"In spite of the 20% increase in the number of agricultural workers during the period 1993-2002, the yield of agricultural work didn't rise, and the new human resources didn't achieve any increase in terms of productivity," he said.

El Bahri also complained about the limited penetration of graduates of agricultural schools and institutes into the national effort.

Mondher, a newly-graduated agronomist, told Magharebia that the prevailing mentality of agricultural institute graduates "is not promising" for the sector.

"Most of them prefer working for government circles and refuse to go to the field. They don't want to take any risks. The few who want to do that lack in the necessary funds, and their families don't own the necessary land required for starting their own projects," he said.

The government plan comes at a critical time. The National Statistics Institute expects Tunisian grain consumption to increase by next year. The consumption rate per person in Tunisia is 220 kg per year, as compared to the annual world rate of 157 kg per person.

World market prices have prompted innovations and financial incentives to improve production in Tunisia. Tunisian authorities have been extremely reluctant to raise the prices of grains and their derivatives. The country underwent an overwhelming popular uprising in 1984 because of the increase in bread prices.