Improving Agricultural Market Performance:
Creation and Development of Market Institutions
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involving agricultural communities in service-delivery and policy-making ensures it is aligned
with current needs. An example of this can be found in Tunisia’s southeastern coastal regions,
where communities of fishermen have been actively involved in co-management.
Another bottleneck relates to the financial position of the selected agricultural market
institutions (e.g. STS and ONH). Overcoming the ineffectiveness of current market institutions
requires either financial restructuring (e.g. STS) or, even, privatization, in combination with an
upgrade of its infrastructure to maximize productivity and, eventually, performance.212
A bottleneck which is present for most commodities is the fragmented and small-scale nature
of Tunisia’s agricultural market. The country case study of Tunisia has shown the importance
of cooperatives for small-scale producers, which is typical for many OIC Member Countries.
The selected market institutions may play a role to encourage farmers to structure in
cooperatives. However, this is complicated due to farmer fragmentation and the absence of an
institution which recognizes and authorizes the status of “farmers”, making it complex to make
the agricultural market, its performance, and market participants more transparent.
Cooperatives underline the importance of economies of scale, which enables Tunisia’s small-
scale farmers to collectively purchase inputs (e.g. pesticides, fertilizers, equipment, and
machinery), organize trainings and workshops, and negotiate contracts with wholesalers as a
result of increased bargaining power. This is particularly important given the recent
devaluation of Tunisia’s currency, which makes it expensive to import foreign inputs. A need
exists for import substitution policies – perhaps implemented by a new institution.
5.2.5 Conclusions and Lessons Learned
As has become evident in Section 5.2.1 and throughout the remainder of this country case
study, the three key challenges impacting Tunisia’s agricultural market system and, hence, its
market performance include:213
 Missing coordination between the various market participants of Tunisia’s agricultural
market channels (e.g. producers, collectors, distributors, and suppliers).
 Absence of post-harvest management through a lack of collection and storage
infrastructure, which now is the responsibility of the private sector.
 Ineffective overall management of the agricultural market. Ineffective distribution
channels adversely impact the quality and perishability of Tunisia’s commodities,
especially its fresh agricultural products.
Indeed, the presence of (too) many intermediaries in combination with (high) market taxes,
leads to informal and inefficient distribution channels, especially in the vegetables sector. The
seafood and aquaculture sector provides a guideline, as weekly wholesale fishing markets are
present in each fishing port, operating as main and direct distributor of all seafood products.
The lease of these fishing markets is provided to merchants through a transparent tender
process.
212 Nawaat (2015), Food Markets in Tunisia: State Institutions and Controls for Distribution Circuits of Agricultural and
Seafood Products, available a
Accessed May 2017].
213 Interview conducted with Institute Nationale Agronomique de Tunisie in Tunis, May 17, 2017