Improving Agricultural Market Performance:
Creation and Development of Market Institutions
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5.2 Tunisia
The purpose of this country case study is to firstly introduce Tunisia’s general agricultural
market system (5.2.1), after which a selection of institutions will be evaluated into more
details (5.2.2 to 5.2.4). Conclusions and lessons learnt may be generalized and serve as
inspiration to other OIC Member Countries (5.2.5).
5.2.1 Overview of Agricultural & Food Sectors and Markets
The following section briefly describes the current situation of the five stages of Tunisia’s
agricultural market system as explained in the Conceptual Framework. The selected
agricultural market institutions (Section 5.2.2) typically intervene in one or more of these
stages. The five stages include:
 Production;
 Handling and storage;
 Processing and packaging;
 Distribution and market; and
 Consumption and trade.
Production
Historically, Tunisia’s agricultural production structure has been marked by a two-tier
structure of a few large agro-industrial companies complemented by small-scale subsistence
family producers.151 As of this moment, about 85% to 89% of Tunisia’s 570,000 farmers own
less than 20 hectares, indicating most agricultural producers are still considered small-scale
farmers.152 The average agricultural productivity per hectare equals US$1,246, which is
slightly below the OIC average of US$1,312 in 2013.153
In fact, the definition of the “farmer” status is not clearly defined and no state authority exists
to authorize farmers and grant them an official document (e.g. “farmer card”). Many non-
farmers now profit from state support and tax benefits initially intended for small-scale
farmers. This lack of official authorization prevents farmers from proving land ownership,
which, in turn, limited their abilities to obtain financial support such as loans and insurances.
This leads to a virtuous circle, given the fact many small-scale farmers already face over-
indebtedness. Farmers have consequently looked for other jobs or combining other jobs with
their farming activities, reducing the overall productivity of Tunisia’s agricultural sector.
Tunisia’s agricultural products, however, have great potential as they are characterized by a
high quality and rich agricultural specialties.154 Examples include oranges, harissa, tomatoes
(due to chemical composition and high density yield technologies) and its olives (presence of
151 African Development Bank (2012), Economic Brief - Distortions to Agricultural Policy Incentives in Tunisia: A Preliminary
Analysis, pp. 5-11, Tunis: African Development Bank.
152 Interview conducted with Direction Générale des Études et du Développement Agricole in Tunis, May 17, 2017
153 COMCEC (2016), COMEC Agricultural Outlook 2016, pp. 55-90, Ankara: COMCEC.
154 WTO (2016), Tunisia Trade Policy Review Report by the Secretariat, Geneva: World Trade Organization.