Impact of the COVID-19 health crisis on small farms and prospects for a sustainable food system in Tunisia

ABSTRACT

Covid-19 had a negative effect economically and socially in Tunisia, as illustrated by the highest mortality rate recorded in Africa in March 2020 and the economic growth rate estimated at -9.3% by the Central Bank of Tunisia in 2020. The main cause of this situation is the quarantine and the sudden halt of several activities resulting in the drop in domestic demand and the loss of Tunisia's main trading partners. The agricultural sector, and particularly small and family farms, forced to align with the quarantine measures since March 2020, have suffered the full impact of Covid-19. Indeed, the pandemic crisis put a strain on food supply chains a complex network of interactions involving farmers, agricultural inputs, processing plants, retailers, and others. This study proposes to analyze the impact of the sanitary crisis, and of the national lockdown measures imposed since March 22, 2020, on small farms in the most vulnerable rural areas of Tunisia and on the functioning of small local chains. A survey based on the approach of the Participatory Systemic Rapid Diagnosis (PSRD) was conducted during the month of June 2020 just after 2 months of containment, with a sample of 240 farmers operating in local channels and distributed from north to south of Tunisia on 6 governorates the poorest and most vulnerable, according to the economic development indicator and poverty line. The results of this survey have shown that the health crisis has resulted in major disruptions to agricultural activities mainly at the level of supply chains of raw materials (treatment products, fertilizers, seeds, animal feed, ... etc.), and marketing channels due to the closure of weekly markets (leafy vegetables, small livestock, ... etc.). This dysfunction of the production system and local agricultural sectors has not only had an impact on farmers' incomes, which have dropped significantly compared to a normal year, but has also disrupted the functioning of the entire food system at the local level. Consequently, the need for a new model of production, processing, and marketing of food products is necessary.