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Tunisia drought threatens 'catastrophic' grain harvest
A severe drought in North Africa has left Tunisian farmers bracing for a catastrophically poor harvest.
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In this picture taken on April 6, 2023 sheep graze on failed wheat fields to preserve the land ahead of the following season, in Medjez el-Bab in northern Tunisia. (AFP/Fethi Belaid)
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severe drought in North Africa has left Tunisian farmers bracing for a catastrophically poor harvest, imperilling food security in the cash-strapped country.
At a time when the global cereals market has been disrupted by the Ukraine war, Tunisia's domestic grain production has also withered under a lack of rainfall that has killed off crops.
Even before the roasting summer months, the soil is dry and dusty in the small Mediterranean country, whose water resources are steadily depleting as climate change intensifies.
"We've never seen a drought this bad," said wheat farmer Tahar Chaouachi, walking despondently through his field, 55 kilometres (35 miles) inland from the capital Tunis.
"It's been dry for the last four years but we expected some rain this season. Instead, it's become worse."
With some Tunisian water reservoirs almost completely dry, authorities imposed emergency measures last month, rationing household supplies and banning water use for washing cars -- as well as for irrigating fields.
"Production is at zero," said Chaouachi, whose farmland lies in Beja province, a key grain production area since the days of the Roman Empire.
