the rural and agricultural roots of the tunisian revolution

7/28/2019 The Rural and Agricultural Roots of the Tunisian Revolution

1/13

The Rural and Agricultural Roots of the Tunisian

Revolution: When Food Security Matters

AliA GAnA[Paper rst received, 6 January 2012; in nal form, 20 May 2012]

Abstract. Originating in rural areas, the popular uprising that led to the Tunisianrevolution of 14 January 2011 has shed light on the growing social and regionaldisparities that have characterized development dynamics in Tunisia. While fa-

vouring the reallocation of resources to coastal areas to the detriment of interiorand agricultural regions, liberalization processes since the late 1980s also fosteredexport-oriented agricultural development strategies, based on the promotion oflarge-scale agricultural enterprises and irrigated farming. As a result, imports ofgrains and animal feed have come to represent a growing source of commercialbalance decit and of nancial pressure on public budgets, particularly since thefood crisis of 2008. On the other hand, decreasing farm subsidies, higher produc-tion costs, growing farmers indebtedness, have importantly reduced the repro-duction capacity of a large fraction of farms, particularly in the rain-fed agricul-ture sector. As rural outmigration and non-farm employment opportunities have

been declining, small farms have become survival spaces for jobless householdmembers, increasing the pressure on family resources and exacerbating socialfrustrations. While rising food prices were not the only cause of recent uprisingsin Tunisia, processes of agricultural restructuring during the past 20 years contrib-uted importantly to fuel the revolutionary dynamics, thus giving a political di-mension to food issues. As demonstrated by the rise of farmers protest movement(land occupations, contestation of farmers unions, refusal to pay for irrigationwater), structural change allowing for an increased control of economic resourcesby local farm producers is needed, but will fundamentally depend on the eec-tiveness of current process of democratic transition in Tunisia.

Introduction

Drve mosty by aspratos for freedom, soca justce ad dgty, the popuar up-rsgs north Afrca have shed ght o the wdespread soca ad potca frus-tratos the rego, shatterg the dyc mage of good studets of the iMF adthe Word Bak that coutres such as Tusa, Morocco ad Egypt ejoyed tera-toay (potca stabty, ecoomc success ad soca progress, especay for Tu-sa). Whe rsg food prces ad hgh uempoymet fueed the ta protests,these took rapdy a potca tur, cag for the fa of the authortara regmes.

Alia Gana is Research Professor at the Centre national de la recherche scientique (CNRS),UMR LADYSS, University of Paris 1 Panthon-Sorbonne, 2 rue Valette, 75005, Paris, France;e-ma: .

Int. Jrnl. of Soc. of Agr. & Food, Vol. 19, No. 2, pp. 201213

ISSN: 0798-1759 This journal is blind refereed.


2/13

202 Alia Gana

What is commonly referred to as the Arab Spring1 has surprsed most aaystsaroud the word, cudg soca scetsts. However, t s possbe to detect thesgs of the soca ad popuar exposo of recet moths the strog tesos adsocial conicts that several countries of the region have experienced over the pastfour years. We can mention the riot of the mine-workers in south Tunisia in 2008,

the umerous strkes the maufacturg sector ad the occupatos of factoresboth in Tunisia and Egypt, the multiple mobilizations of peasants in Egypt, conictsover water and land, and nally the food riots in Morocco, Egypt and Jordan afterthe explosion of food prices in 20072008. In addition, although the social actors andthe mobzatos that prepared the popuar uprsgs of the ast moths are some-what dierent according to country (protests started in rural areas in Tunisia andmosty urba settgs Egypt ad Morocco), however, may smartes ca beobserved recet trajectores of the coutres of the rego. i ths regard, t appearscrucial to have a retrospective look at the deep causes of the Arab revolts and toexpore ther ks wth deveopmet strateges put pace these coutres ad

wth forms of ther tegrato to the goba ecoomy.In this context, the objectives of this article are threefold: 1. to explore some ofthe soco-ecoomc dyamcs that have cotrbuted to the exposo of the popu-lar revolts in the region, focusing mainly on the Tunisian example; 2. to identifymore specically their links with development strategies, which have underminedthe capacity of national economies to secure food self-suciency and a continuingand aordable access to food for the population; 3. to assess the ways in which theTusa revouto ad ogog protest movemets rura areas are key to -uence future directions of agricultural development policies and to foster new ap-proaches to food securty. We argue that the popuar uprsg the rego, rather

beg a ocazed ad puctua respose agast authortara regmes, has deep

hstorca roots. The uderyg sources of the revoutoary upsurge eed fact tobe searched in the detrimental eects of IMF- and World Bank-inspired neo-liberalpolicies on peoples capacity to secure decent work and livelihoods and should beterpreted reato to the crss of the gobazato project ad the word foodsystem (McMichael, 2012). Drawing on a critical globalization studies perspec-tive (Appelbaum and Robinson, 2005) and on food regimes analyses (Friedmannand McMichael, 1989; McMichael, 2005), the article suggests that while rising foodprces were ot the oy cause of recet uprsgs Tusa, processes of agrcu-tural restructuring during the past 20 years contributed importantly to fueling therevoutoary dyamcs, thus gvg a potca dmeso to food ssues. Foowg

other authors, we argue that ths potca dmeso eeds to be retroduced approaches to food security (Patel and McMichael, 2009). As the rise of the farm -ers protest movement demonstrates, structural change is needed to allow for ancreased cotro of ecoomc resources by oca farm producers. However, ths wdepend fundamentally on the eectiveness of the current process of democratictrasto Tusa ad, more partcuary, o the capacty of cv socety to exertpressure o the oretatos of deveopmet poces.

Increasing Inequalities and Growing Unemployment

During the last 20 years, several countries of the region, such as Tunisia, Egypt andMorocco, have experienced major socio-economic transformations, linked rmly tother egagemet a process of ecoomc berazato ad ther opeg up to the


3/13

The Rural and Agricultural Roots of the Tunisian Revolution 203

word markets. As other deveopg coutres, trade berazato ad structuraadjustmet poces, ed uder the stewardshp of the iMF ad the Word Bak, wereexpected to favour better resource aocato, foreg vestmet ad techoogytransfer, and to have positive eects on growth, poverty alleviation and employ-met, especay through the promoto of abour-tesve dustres (Word Bak,

2000).Initiated in Tunesia in the late 1980s and in Egypt in the early 1990s, structural

adjustmet poces ed to a movemet of arge-scae prvatzato, berazato ofprices and trade and to signicant cuts in public expenditures (lower consumptionsubsdes, reducto of pubc empoymet, etc.). The overa objectve of these pocyreforms was the gradua trasformato of atoa ecoomes from state-domat-ed to more market-driven ones (Guerrero, 2010). While reinforcing the orientation ofther atoa ecoomes towards exports (maufacturg dustry, toursm, export-oriented agricultural production), they have exposed them to the erce competitionof the word markets (texte dustry) ad aso have creased ther depedecy o

stape food mports. i both coutres, as we as Morocco, the texte sector hasbee hard ht by the mpact of the dsmatg of the Mut-Fber Agreemet adresuted, partcuary Tusa, the destructo of thousads of jobs.

As a resut of these deveopmet strateges based o the promoto of ow-pro-ductvty ecoomc sectors, whch geerate weak empoymet opportutes forqualied workers, both countries have been faced with a major crisis of employ -met, aggravated, especay Tusa, by a massve arrva of youg graduates othe abour market. Wth decg pubc empoymet ad teratoa outmgra-tion opportunities, unemployment rates have reached record levels in Egypt (30%),and slightly lower in Tunisia (20%), particularly among higher education graduates(Salehi-Isfahani, 2010).

As esewhere, the cotracto of wage-work opportutes resutg from struc-tura adjustmet programmes has bee assocated wth the growth of the formasector (McMichael, 2012). In fact, while public policies failed to integrate large eco-omc segmets of the work-force, a growg proporto of the actve popuato,especay poor areas, have reed creasgy o forma ad eve o egaactvtes,2 partcuary border regos (Agera, lbya).3 However, the formasector was soo vested by groups coected to the potca powers, who dd otfa to see ct actvtes ew sources of erchmet ad who, favoured by wde-spread corrupto vovg members of the admstrato, eded up exercsgtheir control over the sectors most lucrative activities. In doing so, they have de-

prived large fractions of the popular class of their unique source of income sources(Elbaz, 2009).

Oe major tred of the recet soco-ecoomc dyamcs north Afrca s thegrowg dspartes the dstrbuto of weath ad the crease of poverty. 4 Pro-cesses of liberalization and the development of an oshore economic sector havecotrbuted fact to the erchmet of a ew cass of busessme, whch s strogylinked to political power, and which greatly beneted from the privatization of pub-c eterprses ad wdespread corrupto. As a resut, soca ad come dsparteshave creased cosderaby,5 wth ot oy a aggravato of poverty rates, but asoa severe dece of the vg stadards of the mdde cass, whch had deveoped

particularly in Tunisia previously (Ben Romdhane, 2011). And with the explosionof cosumpto eeds, soca frustratos have bee growg, ot oy wth themdde cass, but especay amog precarous groups, stuated mmedatey above


4/13

204 Alia Gana

the poverty line and which have been aected severely by the rising cost of living,mosty as a resut of creasg prces of food stapes ad of decreasg subsdes for

basc cosumer products).

Growing Regional Disparities

With unemployment problems and increased social inequalities, growing regionaldspartes represet aother uderyg source of the recet popuar uprsgs north Afrca. As poted out by severa authors, oe major tred of gobazatoprocesses is the phenomenon of spatial polarization at dierent scales, and the grow-ing spatial inequalities between centre and periphery (Krugman, 1998; Vandermot-ten et al., 2010). This process of spatial polarization is even stronger in developingcoutres. Frst, the gap betwee the ma urba areas ad the rest of the coutry,particularly in terms of infrastructure and qualied labour remains important and iseven widening (Vandermotten et al., 2010). Second, the spillover eects of the mod-

er sector o the rest of the ecoomy are mted, because ths oe s more tegratedwith the economies of the centre than with the local economy, and the prots arerevested core coutres, hderg a accumuato of capta at the oca eve(Dixon and Boswell, 1996)

i Tusa ad Morocco, for exampe, berazato processes sce the ate1980s have favoured the reallocation of resources to coastal areas where touristand laboor-intensive industrial activities are increasingly concentrated to the detri-ment of inland and rural areas. In Egypt spatial dierentiations increasingly take theform of a partto betwee the deta rego, whch s hghy urbazed, ad the nevaey, where rura deveopmet has receved oy secodary atteto from pubc

pocy as prorty has bee gve to the treatmet of urba probems, cosderedpotetay exposve.

Despte major soca achevemets, huma deveopmet dcators Tusa stindicate important gaps and even growing inequalities between, on the one hand,coasta ad ad areas ad, o the other, betwee urba ad rura areas (vgcodtos, heath, educato ad empoymet). it s precsey the regos, whchhavent beneted from economic development (mostly the Central West and thenorth-west) that soca protests have started ad have spread to the whoe coutryater. Aso t s worth recag that Tusa, as a north Afrca coutres, pov-erty remas most mportaty rura.6

The Marginalization of Agriculture: Growing Food Dependency and theUndermining of Land-based Rights

i fact, athough terrtora poces geared towards reducg regoa dspartes addversfyg the rura ecoomy through the promoto of dustra actvtes ru-ral areas have been put in place since the 1980s, job creation for rural inhabitants hasremaed very mted, whe the share of rura househod come geerated fromagrcuture has bee steady decreasg. Today the agrcutura sector accouts oyfor 11% of GDP and for 15% of total employment (against 20% for industrial ac-

tivities and 50% for services). This important regression of the agricultural sectorin rural employment appears to be closely related to the specic role that has beenassged to agrcuture deveopmet strateges. We ca dstgush two ma pe-


5/13


riods that illustrate Tunisias shifting forms of integration into the global economy(Gana, 1998) and which are also profoundly linked to major transformations in theglobal food regime (McMichael, 2009; Holt-Gimnez and Shattuck, 2011).

During a rst period, which goes roughly from the 1960s to the mid-1980s, de-veopmet objectves were focused o the ecessty to provde the urba popua-

tion with cheap food and to reduce labour costs as a way to promote the countrysdustrazato (ths was part of a strategy of mport substtuto ad most mpor-taty a major compoet of the state-ed moderzato project). But whe foodself-suciency was proclaimed as the main objective of agricultural development,actually since the 1970s, foreign aid and agreements fostered growing imports ofwheat, mk, ad beef, orgatg from Amerca ad Europea food surpuses.This dynamic clearly corresponds to what Friedmann and McMichael (1989) havecharacterzed as the secod goba food regme.7 Uder these crcumstaces, foodcosumpto eeds of both the urba ad the rura popuato were to be creas-ingly satised through imports of basic food products at cheap prices from the in-

teratoa markets, thus reegatg agrcutura deveopmet to a secodary pace.Shifts in consumption patterns towards diets including more animal proteins wasfostered by the implementation of a compensation fund (Caisse Gnrale de Com-pensation), which subsidized mainly imported staple food. During this rst periodhowever, the soca roe of agrcuture matag the rura popuato thecoutrysde ad ts cotrbuto to reducg rura outmgrato cotued to be rec-ogzed.

Starting in the late 1980s, the implementation of structural adjustment policiespromoted ew forms of tegrato to the goba ecoomy ad mped a ew roefor the agricultural sector, conforming to the requirements of the emerging globalfood system.8 Ths oe amed at reforcg the cotrbuto of agrcuture to thegoba ecoomc baace of the coutry, through promotg export-oreted farmproduction and expanding the irrigated sector. Structural adjustment resulted inmajor shfts agrcutura poces, wth prvatzato of state farms, cuts farmsubsdes, farm prce berazato, the reorgazato of the farm credt system, adthe gradua prvatzato of food marketg etworks. These pocy chages, whchexpressed a shift from food self-suciency objectives to a food security approach

based o a creased tegrato to the word food markets, fostered the reaoca-to of ecoomc resources favour of arge-scae ad corporate agrcutura eter-prses to the detrmet of the famy-farmg sector ad ra-fed agrcuture (Gaa,1998). As a result, and despite the increase in agricultural exports (fruits and vegeta-

bes, sea food), mports of gras ad ama feed have come to represet a growgsource of commercial balance decit (55% of the countrys consumption needs ingrains are imported, 100% of food needs in the poultry sector, and more than 40% ofcatte feed). Ths depedecy o extera markets s ow exertg a growg pres-sure on public budgets, particularly since the food crisis of 2008, undermining statecapacty to subsdze food stapes.

Cuts farm subsdes, farm prce berazato ad the reorgazato of theagricultural credit system have signicantly altered the economic environment offarmg actvtes ad have bee mafest major trasformatos patters ofrura vehoods. These trasformatos dcate a major break the codtos

dening household access to land, i.e. a weakening of land-rights based on familysurvva ad a recosttuto of these rghts favour of those who ca use farmland as a means of production (Gana, 1998). As a result of changing farm production


6/13

206 Alia Gana

conditions and patterns of social reproduction, growing processes of dierentiation(cudg wth famy farms) were to be observed. Frst, wth decreasg farmsubsdes ad growg competto for ad resources, the reproducto capacty ofa mportat group of famy farms has become creasgy depedet o the d-versication of both farm and non-farm income sources. Diversication of farming

systems voved mportaty a shft from gra to hortcuture ad frut producto,based on irrigation. Second, processes of farm restructuring have been manifest inthe creased margazato (wth respect to agrcutura producto, partcuaryof gra) of sma adhoders where farmg s part of a vehood strategy basedo puractvty. Wth shfts towards ow-put farm actvtes, survva strateges this farm group have been increasingly based on o-farm wage labour of householdmembers, dcatg a progressve movemet out of agrcuture. Whe cag toquestion the utilization of land as a means of livelihood9 ad as a mechasm ofsoca redstrbuto, these processes have chaeged the roe of the state as a me-datg factor processes of berazato ad commodtsato. Furthermore, as

rura outmgrato ad o-farm empoymet opportutes have bee decg,sma farms have become survva spaces for jobess househod members, creasgthe pressure o famy resources ad exacerbatg soca frustratos rura areas,where the movemet of soca protest has started.

Food Issues: A Political Dimension

It is this conjunction of processes, including growing social inequalities and cor-rupto, that cotrbuted to crystazg soca ad potca dscotet. i fact, thepopular uprising of January 2011, which rallied various groups of the population,

cudg the mdde cass, rapdy made a potca tur whe cag for the over-throw of the rulers. If the Tunisian revolution is not only the consequence of risingfood prces, the wave of revots started evertheess agast a backgroud of dete-riorating social conditions and living standards. According to FAO (2011), globalfood prices reached a record high in January 2011, surpassing the levels reachedduring the 20072008 food crisis. As several analysts have shown, the extreme vul-erabty to rsg food prces of most coutres of north Afrca was udoubtedya precipitating condition for social unrest (Bellemare, 2011; Breisinger et al., 2011;Lagi et al., 2011; World Bank, 2011). Impacts of the food crisis have been expressedin growing nancial pressures on public budgets and cuts in food subsidies.10 Thshad major consequences for household budgets, increasing the share of consump-to expedtures devoted to food. i most coutres of north Afrca, the pressureo househod budgets has bee so mportat that the share of famy expedtureon food is still very high: 35.8% in Tunisia, 38.8% in Egypt, 43.9% in Algeria (USDA,2007). As mentioned above, the impacts of higher food prices was also felt in ruralad farm househods, as these rey mportaty ad creasgy o purchased food.The rapd dece of food auto-cosumpto practces amog farm househods adthe udermg of oca food suppy systems, whch reforces the depedecy omported stape food, ustrates the creasgy cetra roe that (goba food sys-tems are) playing in human survival and well-being (Lagi et al., 2011).

A recet iFPRi report asserts that food securty has deterorated most Arab

countries, which is consistent with observed high food prices ination and that,particularly in Tunisia, more people lacked money to buy enough food in 2010[compared to] the previous year. The diminishing capacity of the largest fraction of


7/13


the popuato to access stape food ad, more geeray, the creased abty ofthe state to hamper the eroso of househod comes has bee o doubt a mpor-tant factor in crystallizing social discontent in North Africa (Breisinger et al., 2011).

However, beyod the evdece that decg vg stadards ad food securtypayed a roe trggerg soca urest, what s mportat to udere s that the

popuar uprsg north Afrca has gve a potca dmeso to food ssues.i fact, by reveag the shortcomgs of agrcutura poces ad ther abty totackle the social dimensions of development, the food crisis and its consequencehas cotrbuted to the dsrupto of the soca cotract o whch the egtmacy ofthe Tunisian regime was based. This was reected in the slogan Bread and waterwithout dictatorship, which was chanted during the protest movement of January2011. With this regard, the assertion that the food issue has taken a political dimen-so shoud ot be uderstood a restrctve way, .e. that creases food prcesare key to geerate food rots ad soca urest, but rather that they ca ead, aswas the case Tusa, to the rejecto of the etre soco-potca system. Aother

ustrato of how the food ssue has take a potca dmeso s whe formerTunisian President Ben Ali on 13 January decided to reduce the price of staples suchas sugar, milk and bread. The oer wasnt enough to prevent the thousands of pro-testers who had gathered the day after the capta, Tus, to demad hs ouster(Romm, 2011). The politicization of the protest movement indicates that people weremakg a drect k betwee potca choces ad deveopmet oretatos adthe deterioration of their living conditions. In peoples mind a better access to foodstaples implied the overthrow of the dictator. As Lagi et al. (2011) point out, in foodmportg coutres wth wdespread poverty, potca orgasatos may be per-ceved to have a crtca roe food securty. Faure to provde securty udermesthe very reason for existence of the political system.

As we will see in the following section, social protests and farmers demands forstructural reforms have amplied during the transition period, illustrating their as-pratos for a radca break wth the former regme ad deveopmet poces.

Farmers Protests in the Transition Period: A Reactivation of Class Struggle inthe Countryside?

The profound transformations in the conditions of farmers access to agriculturalresources that have accompaed process of berazato ad state dsegagemetduring the last two decades have favoured the rise of social tensions and conictsin rural areas, particularly growing claims over land and water. Since the late 1980s,the trasfer of farm co-operatve to prvate compaes has ofte bee faced wth astrog opposto from former co-operatve workers, may of whom have ost ther

jobs and their livelihoods (Gana, 1998).Similarly, decentralization and transfer of water management from state agencies

to oca user assocatos, rather tha reforcg farmer cotro over the resource,have favoured monopolizing by the most inuential economic actors, while enhanc-g the capacty of oca authortes to terfere the aocato of water to the detr-ment of small farmers (Gana and Amrani, 2006; Gana, 2011).

The rising discontent in rural areas also originated from farmers growing indebt-

edess. May of them, partcuary sma farmers are subject to awsuts for fagto repay bak oas ad are uder the threat of ad exproprato.11 The trasfer ofstate-owed agrcutura ad to prvate vestors, cudg members of fames


8/13

208 Alia Gana

aed to the regme, has cotued to be the source of may tesos betwee, o theoe had, farm workers ad, o the other, maagers of arge farm hodgs ad theagricultural administration. Although they had been rarely satised, protests overad cams o pubc farms have remaed very much ave amog peasats adfarm workers may areas.

Since 14 January, social protests have amplied in rural and agricultural areas,ad appear may ways to reactvate cass strugge the coutrysde. The foow-g secto s based o recet research coducted the framework of the TusaObservatory of the Democratic transition, which existed in the follow-up of farmersmobzatos durg the trasto perod that ed to the eectos of the natoaConstituent Assembly of 23 October (Gana, 2011). Data collected12 ad tervewscarried out with various farmers groups show that multiple forms of collective ac-to have take pace, seekg varous objectves accordg to farmg groups: accessto resources (land claims, access to water and nancial resources), better workingcodtos ad remuerato, cotestato of farmers uos ad user assocatos,

cotestato of marketg codtos ad prcg mechasms, etc.Right after 14 January, a large number of state farms (more than 100), which hadbee trasferred to prvate vestors, have bee the target of attacks by orgazedgroups, causing major damages and destruction. Several of these farms have beenoccuped by farm workers ad adess peasats who are deoucg the prvat-zato of state farms ad are ow askg the trasto govermet to redstrbutethese farms in their favour (African Manager, 2011). Claims on state-owned farmland have amplied and a number of political parties have expressed their supportto a project of agrara reform that woud mprove access to ad of sma-hodersand farm workers. Furthermore these protests are going so far as to call into ques-to state owershp of agrcutura ad. ideed, may areas farmers are owdemanding to get back the land of their ancestors, rst conscated by French colo -sts ad atoazed by the state after depedece. A umber of fames haveudertake steps to the recogto of ther rghts o state ad, based o the pres-etato of od ttes. Aso puctua occupatos of arge farms by sma-hoders adagrcutura workers amed at hderg the performace of powg tasks at the

begg of the croppg seaso have bee reported. These varous forms of actosare part of the w to exert pressure for the recogto of the rght of the poor to a

better access to land and are thus highly political. Farmers protests over land havedrawn attention to the long-ignored social consequences of privatization of state-owed farm ad, whch deprved umerous rura fames from a mportat part

of ther vehood. i addto to the ad protest movemet, farm workers, mostyempoyed o a seasoa bass, have orgazed umerous strkes ad st-s, some-tmes wth the support of trade uos, to ask for better wages ad better workgcodtos. Ther actos seek aso to cosodate the orgazato of farm workerswithin the framework of specic unions.

O the other had, hoders of corporate farms are gettg orgazed to assoca-tos to defed ther terests ad are askg the trasto govermet to protectther eterprses ad to be compesated for the damages that a arge umber ofthem have had, as a result of several acts of violence and occupation. So far their de-mands have not been fullled. Protests have been staged also to contest the leaders

of the farmers uo, cosdered as beg compromsed wth the former regme adnot representative of their interests (Mestiri, 2011). Farmers have organized severaldemostratos, frot of the govermet house the capta, order to demad


9/13


the resgato of the farmers uo eaders ad may cases they have obtaedsatsfacto. Ths cotestato movemet has ed recety to some farmers creatg aew farmers uo, seekg more autoomy vs- vs the potca power.

Mobilizations have also sought to denounce the problem of farmers indebted-ess, whch ed a umber of sma-hoders to bakruptcy, ad to exert pressure o

the govermet to ft debts cotracted by ths category of farmers. Farmer protestsad demostratos are aso reated to prcg probems resutg from the prvat-zato of gra coecto. Cotestato of ew prcg mechasms, based o theevaluation of the quality of grain, have conducted numerous farmers to refuse tosell their grain to private collectors and some farmers groups are calling for there-estabshmet of state moopoy over the commercazato of gras. Aso hor-tcuture ad mk producers have orgazed severa demostratos ad st-s, toprotest agast seg codtos mposed o them by the agro-dustry.

Another form of protest, which has amplied over the past months, is the con-testation of water users association and the refusal of farmers to pay for irrigation

water. Farmers, as we as rura househods are askg for a free access to waterad for the state to reegage the maagemet of water resources that had beetrasferred to water user assocatos, both for potabe ad rrgato water. Waterrelated conicts and mobilizations, which challenge state withdrawal from the man-agement of water resources, express the rise of demands for a more equitable shar-g of water resources ad more geeray for better vg codtos rura areas.

What these mutpe forms of protests ceary revea s the rse of soca strugges the coutrysde ad a profoud cotestato of former state poces, but aso adierentiation of farmer demands, according to the dierent social groups. Actually,there s a cosesus amog farmers that agrcutura deveopmet shoud be gve

a reewed ad creased atteto state poces, poces that farmers cosder tohave bee based favour of the dustra ad the tourstc sectors. But what weaso observe are the growg cotradctos betwee, o the oe had, demadsseeking structural reforms, particularly in land distribution among the dierentgroups of farmers, as we as demads for the re-egagemet of the state themaagemet of agrcutura actvtes, ad, o the other had, resstace of the bgfarmers group and the multiplication of actions aiming at creating the conditionsfor the reinforcement of private initiative and farmers organizations in the manage-met of agrcutura actvtes.

it s of course too eary to te what w be the outcome of dyamcs ad mobza-

tos takg pace rura areas. i ay case, the Tusa revouto, whch s stgog o, has fostered a reewed atteto o agrcutura deveopmet, partcu-ary wth regard to soca ad food securty ssues. These ssues ot oy have amportat weght the curret potca debate, but have aready ead the trastogovermet to egage a arge cosutato o food securty ssues ad to eaboratea og-term vestmet programme the gra producto sector.

Aso ad protests ad occupatos of corporate farm eterprses have gvevoce to poor farm workers ad sma-hoders ad have cotrbuted to put at theforefront of the political agenda the issue of resource allocation between the dierentcategories of farmers. Evidence of this evolving approach to the land question is the

reluctance of the transition government, at least before the 23 October elections, tosatsfy the demads of corporate farms ad the possbe revso of the attrbutocrtera of state-owed ad to take to cosderato the eeds of poor househods.


10/13

210 Alia Gana

The explosion of demands for social justice in rural areas have strongly inuencedthe potca debate durg the trasto perod ad have bee heavy strume-tased by some potca partes who have based ther campag o the dea that thesolution to peoples problems was conditioned by a radical change with the past.Whether or ot these dyamcs w trasate major shfts deveopmet oreta-

tos for the agrcuture sector w deped o the baace of power that ca be cre-ated, o the oe sde betwee the varous groups that costtute the farmg popua-to, o the other sde betwee these varous groups ad the ew potca ete thatemerged from recet eectos. Premary aayses of the resut of past eectos,which made the Islamist Ennadha the rst party of the country, do not to reect themain objective causes that were at the origins of the popular uprisings in Tunisia.13

Future deveopmet oretatos for the agrcutura sector, whch provdes ve-hoods for a large fraction of the population and plays a key in role the countrys foodsecurity, will mainly depend on the capacity of civil society and farmers groups toorgaze as autoomous forces capabe of exertg a cotug pressure o the ew

trasto govermet.

Conclusion

Several lessons can be drawn from the analysis of the relationship between food is -sues ad the potca crss Tusa. Frst of a, athough food ssues were ot theoy cause of the Tusa revouto, the backgroud mpact of soarg food prcesad hgh eve of food securty o doubt cotrbuted to crystaze the movemetof social protest that led to the fall of Ben Alis regime. Second, policies that sub -mit agricultural development exclusively to the requirements of the global market,

without ensuring a certain level of self-suciency in basic food products, are unsus-taabe, as they have the poteta ot oy to fue protests or rots, but to geeratea profoud cotestato of the rug etes ad the soco-potca system. The sus-tained global trend of high food prices (rather than price volatility), conrmed bymost prospect aayses, provdes evdece for the decg abty of teratoafood markets to secure the provision of food products at competitive prices. Whilechaegg the dea that food securty ca be esured through goba trade, thsstructural change in international food markets fundamentally calls into questionthe neo-liberal denition of food security, as referring mainly to a countrys abilityto nance imports of food through exports of other goods (Mendoza, 2002; Lee,2007).

Curret dyamcs, whch uderme the capacty of atoa ecoomes to se-cure access to food at aordable prices and their role in triggering recent uprisings north Afrca, cotrbute to rehabtate a coceptuazato of food securty asdepedg may o oca producto of food, both at the eve of the ato (foodsoveregty)14 and at the level of the household. The farmers protest movement inTusa hghghts the eed for govermets to address the soca ad food secu-rty dmeso of agrcutura deveopmet ad ca for structura reform adresource aocato, for major trasformatos the soca ad techca modes ofagricultural production (IAASTD, 2009), as well as for profound changes in the or-gasato of farm put ad output markets, at varous scaes.

Fay, the esso to be eared from the Tusa case s the profoud k be-twee the way out of usustaabe deveopmet modes ad democracy. However,as the resuts of recet eectos show, represetatve democracy s a ecessary, but


11/13


not sucient condition to pave the way for the democratization of the social organi-zato of food producto.

Notes

1. Anderson (2011) suggests that the notion of Arab Spring needs to be demystied: the revolutionsacross these three countries (Tunisia, Egypt, Libya) reected divergent economic grievances and socialdynamics.

2. A recent World Bank report evaluated the contribution of the informal sector at 38.2% of GDP andother studies estimated its share in the creation of non-agricultural employment to 40% (Gatti et al.,2011).

3. To the extent that informal and illegal activities allowed for the survival of the poor population andthe suppy of cosumer goods at ow prces, the state has tured a bd eye o the proferato offorma sector, as a way to cota soca tesos ad mata stabty ad potca order.

4. Forty per cent of Egyptians live on less than $2 per day, while the richest 20% account for over half thecountrys wealth.

5. Ten per cent of Tunisians own one third of GDP against 30% of the poorest accessing less than 10% of

GnP.6. Forty per cent of the MENA regions total population is rural and 70% of the people who earn less than

$1.25 a day are rural.7. According to McMichael (2009, p. 141) the second food regime (1950s70s) re-routed ows of (sur-

plus) food from the United States to its informal empire of postcolonial states on strategic perimetersof the Cod War. Food ad subsdsed wages, ecouragg seectve Thrd Word dustrasato,ad securg oyaty agast commusm ad to mpera markets. Deveopmet states terasedthe mode of atoa agro-dustrasato, adoptg Gree Revouto techooges, ad sttutgland reform to dampen peasant unrest and extend market relations into the countryside.

8. For McMichael, the neo-liberal world order gives rise to a third food regime. He uses the notion ofcorporate food regime, which denes a set of rules institutionalising corporate power in the worldfood system (2009, p. 142).

9. In addition self-provisioning of food among farm households has signicantly diminished. As Ba-ss dets rey creasgy o purchased food orgatg to a arge extet from goba markets, farmhousehods have become partcuary vuerabe to food prce creases.

10. According to Trego (2011), the share of public expenditure devoted to food subsidies in Egypt hasdropped by half since the 1990s.

11. In June and July 2010, farmers in Regueb and Sidi Bouzid demonstrated outside the headquartersof the goverorate agast awsuts brought agast them by the BnA ad exproprato proceduresthey were undergoing. Twenty indebted families whose assets were liquidated staged sit-ins on theirland to oppose the expropriation. Subsequently, a protest outside the headquarters of the governo-rate was orgazed ad brutay dspersed by poce. These protests have had tte meda coverage().

12. The research was based on the review of a journalistic corpus (national and foreign press), individualtervews wth farmers four regos of Tusa (Tus, Cap Bo, Zaghoua, Bzerte), tervewswth members ad represetatves of varous agrcutura ad rura orgazatos (water user groups,producer associations) and with ocials of agricultural services and rural development projects.

13. The Islamist party Ennadha (Renaissance) won 39% of the seats of the national constituent assemblyelected on 23 October. This vote, which needs to be further analysed, no doubt expresses a deep rejec-to of former regme, but may the successfu strategy of a potca campag drawg o a moraad regous dscourse. Premary aayses of the geographca dstrbuto of Eadha voters showa NorthSouth divide in the electoral weight of the Renaissance party, which obtains the largest shareof votes in the south of the country, but also in the region of Kairouan (religious capital city of thecountry), and nally in the poor neighbourhoods of the big cities. In contrast, the North-west and themd-West regos, whch where home of the uprsg Tusa, are those that gve the owest share ofvotes to the isamst party.

14. Developed by the Via Campesina movement, the notion of food sovereignty is dened as the rightof each ato to mata ad deveop ts ow capacty to produce ts basc foods respectg cuturaand productive diversity. It is a precondition to genuine food security (Via Campesina, 2006).


12/13

212 Alia Gana

References

AfricAn MAnAger (2011) Tunisie: Terres agricoles et investisseurs, cherchent protection dsesprment! Pub-lished online , accessed on 8 May 2012.

Altieri, M. (2009) Agroecology, small farms, and food sovereignty,Monthly Review, 61(3), pp. 102113.Anderson, l. (2011) Demystifying the Arab Spring: parsing the dierences between Tunisia, Egypt, and Lib-

ya, Foreign Aairs, May/June, published online .AppelbAuM, r. ad robinson W. (eds) (2005) Critical Globalization Studies. new York: Routedge.belleMAre, M. (2011) Rising Food Prices, Food Price Volatility, and Political Unrest. Pubshed oe

.

ben roMdhAne, M. (2011) Tunisie. tat, conomie et socit. Ressources politiques, lgitimation et rgulationssociales. Pars: Edtos Pubsud.

breisinger, c., ecker, o. ad Al-riffAi, p. (2011) conomie du printemps arabe. De la rvolution la trans-formation et la scurit alimentaire, Politiques alimentaires en perspective n 18. Published online.

dixon, W.J. ad bosWell, t. (1996) Dependency, disarticulation, and denominator eects: another look atforeg capta peetrato, American Journal of Sociology, 102(2), pp. 543562.

elbAz, s. (2009) Quand le rgime du changement prne la stabilit mots et trajectoire de dveloppe-ment en Tunisie, Revue Tiers Monde, 200, pp. 821835.

fAo (foodAnd Agriculture orgAnizAtionofthe united nAtions) (2011) Global Food Price Monitor, 14 Janu-ary. Published online .

friedMAnn, h. ad McMichAel, p. (1989) Agriculture and the state system: the rise and fall of nationalagricultures, 1870 to the present, Sociologia Ruralis, 29(2), pp. 93117.

gAnA, A. (1998) Agricultural Restructuring, Household Practices and Family Farm Dierentiation: A Case Studyof the Region of Zaghouan, Tunisia. Ph.D. thess, Core Uversty.

gAnA, A. (2011) Agriculteurs et paysans: nouveaux acteurs de la socit civile et de la transition dmocratique enTunisie? Published online .

gAnA A. ad AMrAni, M. (2006) Crise hydraulique au Maghreb: rarfaction de la ressource ou problmesde a gesto, Gocarrefour, 81(1), pp. 3750.

gAtti, r., Angel-urdinol, d.f., silvA, J. ad bodor, A. (2011) Striving for Better Jobs: The Challenge of Infor-mality in the Middle East and North Africa Region. Pubshed oe .

guerroro, b.J.e. (2010) A Dissection of the Globalized Middle East: Assessing Globalizations Impact. Pubshedonline .

holt-giMnez, e. ad shAttuck, A. (2011) Food crises, food regimes and food movements: rumblings ofreform or tdes of trasformato,Journal of Peasant Studies, 38(1), pp. 109144.

iAAstd (internAtionAl AssessMentof AgriculturAl scienceAnd technologyfor developMent) (2009) Ag-riculture at the Crossroads. Washgto, DC: isad Press.

krugMAn, p. (1998) The Role of Geography in Development. Paper prepared for the Aua Word Bak Co-ference on Development Economics, Washington, DC, April, pp. 2021.

lAgi, M., bertrAnd, k.z. ad yAneer, b.y. (2011) The Food Crises and Political Instability in North Africa andthe Middle East. Cambridge, MA: New England Complex Systems Institute.

lee, r. (2007) Food Security and Food Sovereignty, Centre for Rural Economy Discussion Paper Series No.11. Newcastle: University of Newcastle upon Tyne.

McMichAel, p. (2005) Global development and the corporate food regime, in: f.h. buttel ad p. McMi-chAel (eds) New Directions in the Sociology of Global Development, Oxford: Elsevier, pp. 265300.

McMichAel, p. (2009) A food regime genealogy,Journal of Peasant Studies, 36(1), pp. 139169.McMichAel, p. (2012) Development and Social Change: A Global Perspective. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Pub-

catos.MendozA, M.r. (2002) World Food Summit: Trade Liberalization and Food Security. WTO News, Rome, 11

June. Published online .

Mestiri, b. (2011) Union tunisienne de lagriculture et de la pche... le dernier bastion du RCD?. la Presse de Tu-nisie, Tunis, 3 June. Published online .

pAtel, r. ad McMichAel, p. (2009) A political economy of the food riot, Review Journal of the FernandBraudel Center, 32(1), pp. 935.

roMM, J. (2011) Egyptian and Tunisian Riots Were Driven in Part by the Spike in Global Food Prices, Janu-ary 30. Published online .


13/13


sAlehi-isfAhAni, d. (2010) Human Development in the Middle East and North Africa, Huma DeveopmetResearch Paper 2010/26. New York: UNDP.

trego, r. (2011). The functioning of the Egyptian food-subsidy system during food-price shocks, Develop-ment in Practice, 21(45), pp. 666678.

usdA (united sAtes depArtMent of Agriculture) (2007) Food CPI and Expenditures. Pubshed oe.

vAnderMotten, c., MArissAl, p. ad vAn hAMMe, g. (2010) La production des espaces conomiques. La forma-

tion des territoires, Tome II, 2nd edn. Bruxelles: Editions de lUniversit de Bruxelles.viA cAMpesinA (2006) The Doha Round is Dead! Time for Food Sovereignty, La Via Campesina Statement 29 July.

Pubshed oe .

World bAnk (2000) World Development Report 1999/2000 Entering the 21st Century: The Changing Develop -ment Landscape. Oxford: Oxford Uversty Press.

WorldbAnk(2011)Food Price Watch. Published online .

the rural and agricultural roots of the tunisian revolution

Documents