The Ukrainian crisis pushes Tunisia to rely on its domestic production of durum wheat

The wheat is transported after it is harvested in the Sebala Ben Ammar region in Tunisia.

AFP

The Ukrainian war caused a significant increase in grain prices. Tunisia, which imports 66% of it from the Black Sea region, decided to draw up a plan to rely on its capabilities to achieve self-sufficiency in the production of durum wheat.

While Tunisia will continue to import soft wheat to make bread, it aims to achieve self-sufficiency in hard wheat, the main food item on the tables of the Maghreb countries, especially Tunisia, the second largest consumer of pasta behind Italy, with 17 kilograms per capita per year.

However, in contrast, farmers in the Sebala Ben Ammar region in the north of the country complain of a shortage and obsolete equipment, as well as weak government support, especially for small farmers.

Farmer Munther, the ideal, gazes at his vast field of grain, as the half-century-old engine of the reaper interrupts the silence.

"I would like to buy a new reaper, but it is not possible without government support," the 65-year-old farmer told AFP, his old machine destroyed a third of the crop.

Munther lives in constant obsession and fear that the machine will suffer a “catastrophic” mechanical failure one day and become unable to collect his crops, so he struggles to buy spare parts from the market, which in turn is witnessing an increase in prices.

In addition, the thought of buying a new or even used machine seems difficult for small farmers because it will cost them at least 150,000 euros.

The idealist adds, "If the state supports us, the quality will improve and production will rise from 50% to 90%," but "the situation is getting worse and the state is not helping us."

The Chief of the Cabinet of the Minister of Agriculture, Faten Khamsi, acknowledges that “there are about 3,000 harvesting machines in Tunisia, 80% of which are old and damaged, which causes great losses.”

no continuity

The Ukrainian crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic have prompted the Tunisian authorities to quickly think about solutions and review their grain production policies.

Between 2012 and 2016, Tunisia bought about 33% of its needs of hard wheat, 71% of barley, and 85% of soft wheat, according to a report by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

In addition, the unstable political climate played a major role and affected production operations, especially since the country has not witnessed stability since 2011, and many governments have succeeded in not being able to lay down a clear strategy for this sovereign sector.

Saida al-Baladi, a specialist in agriculture working in the public sector, says: “Every period there is a new minister of agriculture.

And when he gets his position, the policy changes (...) There is no continuity.”

Last April, the government began adopting new measures aimed at promoting self-sufficiency in durum wheat production in the coming years, by increasing the areas allocated for this cultivation from 560,000 hectares to 800,000 hectares.

Also, the National Grain Office (governmental) raised the purchase price per ton from farmers in a move aimed at encouraging them to increase production.

The Ministry of Agriculture, in turn, is working to increase the areas of land allocated for the cultivation of soft wheat by 30% in the next season, in addition to giving farmers good seeds, allocating technical follow-up to production operations, and enabling small investors to obtain government-guaranteed loans.

Al-Khumssy states that "agricultural synergies" will be supported in order to be able to purchase reapers that are used by all farmers in each region.

Al-Khumassi also asserts that the state has two options, either to develop grain production to reach self-sufficiency, or to support other crops that are fully prepared for export.

The donor international financial institutions are urging poor countries to focus on the cultivation and development of fully exported products, at the expense of production for local consumption.

"embedded" Rome

The Ministry of Agriculture confirmed, this June, that it would grant licenses to foreign investors to fully own agricultural companies, instead of imposing a partnership with a Tunisian party.

Al-Khumssy explained the reasons for making this decision, by creating more job opportunities and attracting more foreign investments to the sector.

However, economic analyst Fadel Qaboob believes that this option “failed from the start,” and explains that “the goal of this economic model for large companies is to earn more dollars and euros to pay their debts, and not produce wheat in dinars at the local market level.”

The expert adds that small farmers who operate in limited areas of land "will not be able to compete with large investors who have easy access to soft loans from European banks."

The idealist, who struggles to continue his project and bequeath it to his son, wonders, "Tunisia was buried (the storehouse) of the Roman Empire with wheat, so why don't we restore that?"

The Tunisian Ministry of Agriculture is working to increase the areas of land allocated for the cultivation of soft wheat by 30% in the next season, in addition to giving farmers good seeds, allocating technical follow-up to production operations, and enabling small investors to obtain government-guaranteed loans.

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