Tunisia redux

The present Research Note describes and analyses socio-economic and technological changes that have taken place in the farming locality of Dahmani over a 34 year period. The Note considers the role of policy changes affecting the agricultural sector and it draws upon household case studies started 34 years ago. It also provides some methodological suggestions on conducting rural household interviews in Tunisia. The round of research in 2007 incorporated a broadened view of farm residents as actors, reflecting their new role as players in the global information economy. Along with this change, the role of central government had shifted from authoritative policy decider for the rural areas to enabler of rural peoples' preferences for public goods. Impressive gains have been made in providing public infrastructure to the rural population, and in facilitating private investments especially in irrigation and housing. Technological change in grain and livestock (sheep and cattle) farming has progressed slower than Tunisia's food security requirements. Backsliding is apparent on extension recommendations related to grain production and mixed farming. Farmers' reluctance to innovate may be related to such behavioural and policy constraints as short-term speculation by absentee land owners and fixed grain pricing policies. The ‘backsliding’ may also represent rational adjustments to environmental change or lack of soundness of the recommendations themselves. This paper is identified correctly as a ‘Research Note’. As such, it contains hypotheses which require more fieldwork to substantiate at the level of Northwest Tunisia, or even for an accurate understanding of changes in the Dahmani study area. The Note also raises in a preliminary fashion the complex subject of rural transformation, that is, the effects of overall economic growth on the size and income of the active workforce engaged in primary agriculture. In general, the Note is presented with the intent of encouraging collaborative rural social science in Tunisia

Agricultural economics · Agricultural productivity · Agriculture · Business · Economic growth · Economics · Food security · Geography · Government (linguistics · Livestock · Natural resource economics · Population · Public policy · Speculation · Agriculture and Rural Development Research

• Liberalization against Democracy

  Stephen J King•Liberalization Against Democracy•2003

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