How to unblock growth through Agriculture in Tunisia?
Opportunities to develop a more equilibrated development model are possible by pushing Agriculture sector at the top of Nation’s agenda.
It will require a clear plan and a huge investment in people –especially rural women- and in infrastructure. This note is an attempt to describe the potential of the primary sector, notably the extensive Agriculture before identifying some measures to be followed in order to disentangle obstacles facing the sector and the growth in Tunisia.
Introduction
Tunisia has seen an economic growth close to 5% in average during the 2000s before the start of the uprising against the regime in December 2010 and the step-down of the president in January 2011. Tunisian Revolution has been followed by a collapse in production and productivity which both lead to economic growth shrink in almost all the sectors.
Despite notable progress in democratic process, economic problems and social turmoil have continued. Furthermore, the biggest challenges facing Tunisian government are unemployment, poverty and social disparities, especially among young graduates. Yet, unemployment rate continues to be high staying at 15.6% overall (and 31.6% for the graduates). Similarly, poverty rate exceeds 15.2% while extreme poverty rate is almost 3%. Inequality is challenging as well since the GINI index (incomes distribution) is staying at 30.9%.
[Photo by R. Gj | Flickr]
