Agriculture
From The Report: Tunisia 2017
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Although its share in Tunisia’s economy has declined over the past few decades, agriculture contributes 9% of GDP, employs 16% of the workforce, and accounts for 9% of investments and exports. During the post-revolution years, the sector has appeared as one of the most resilient of the economy. It has experienced double-digit investment growth, and is expected to boost value added in strategic segments such as cereals and olive oil. The growth of the agriculture sector, however, will largely depend on the government’s ability to prepare for a series of upcoming challenges, including droughts brought on by climate change, farmers’ growing debt loads and land fragmentation. The country’s capacity to accelerate the development of new agri-business subsectors, such as bottled olive oil and processed dates and vegetables, is also key.

This chapter contains an interview with Abdelmajid Ezzar, President, Tunisian Union of Agriculture and Fisheries.

Articles from this Chapter

Overview

Investing in the future: Foreign financiers are seeing growth opportunities
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Although its share in Tunisia’s economy has declined over the past few decades, agriculture contributes 9% of the country’s GDP, employs 16% of the workforce and accounts for 9% of investments and exports. Extending over 5m ha of cultivated land, agricultural production centres on cereals, fruits and vegetables, olive oil and dates. The sector has traditionally relied on small family farms, but the expansion of larger enterprises in recent decades has led to the development of an agri-business…

Interview

Thought for food: Abdelmajid Ezzar, President, Tunisian Union of Agriculture and Fisheries, on restructuring the agricultural market
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Interview: Abdelmajid Ezzar What risks would be created for Tunisian farmers after the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) with the EU is ratified? ABDELMAJID EZZAR: The DCFTA would for the first time open up Tunisia’s agricultural sector to direct competition with its European counterpart. It is important to note that the vast majority of Tunisian farmers cultivate between five and 10 ha. Most Tunisian farmers lack the scale, structure and support necessary to compete internationally.…

Analysis

Preparation and innovation: Drier conditions are being met with technological innovations
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In recent years Tunisian agriculture has been hampered by the recurring droughts, and with only 80,000 ha of cultivable land under irrigation, cereals and crop production have fluctuated. Yet Tunisia has a volume of water reserves estimated at 5bn cu metres, 55% composed of surface waters and 45% underground. Nearly half of these reserves are situated in the water-rich northern provinces. In a bid to improve access to water, the government has invested to improve supply infrastructure, boost…