28-07-2025
Family farming ineligible for international cooperation funding?
Despite some gaps and shortcomings that mar its organizational methods, family farming appears to have a bright future in Tunisia and nearly everywhere else in the world.
What is most striking, however, is that family farming, which represents 80% of the agricultural sector—has yet to be included in the 2026/2030 development plan.
This inclusion is meant to enable access to funding lines allocated under international cooperation, stated Fethi Ben Khalifa, general coordinator of the 'United Nations Decade of Family Farming' (UNDFF) program.
To this end, professional organizations and agricultural experts are working to convince the government of the necessity of integrating family farming into the development plan.
Ben Khalifa emphasized that incorporating family farming into that plan would allow Tunisia to benefit from funding provided by several UN agencies.
He cited, for example, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), which already provides technical support to this form of farming through multiple programs.
He also recalled that Tunisian agriculture is characterized by the predominance of small farms, 75% of which are less than 10 hectares in size. He noted that family farming faces several challenges, including land fragmentation.
'The poverty rate in rural areas has reached 26.6%, compared to 10% in urban areas, due to the lack of economic diversification and water scarcity.'
Competition from 'large-scale farmers'!
For his part, Nourredine Nasr, an international expert in agricultural development, pointed out that Tunisia already has a National Action Plan for Family Farming (2022-2030), developed under the UN Decade of Family Farming (2019-2028).
The drafting of this plan began in late 2021 after Tunisia signed a partnership agreement with the FAO and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). The Tunisian plan is among the 16 national strategies adopted worldwide, out of a total of 100 national plans developed, he specified.
In this context, he recalled that the plan aims to encourage farmers' children to take over their fathers' farms, countering their disinterest in agriculture due to lack of adequate financing and declining farm incomes.
It also aims to Promote gender equality in family farming and the leadership role of rural women, who own only 14% of land.
However, competition from large-scale farmers has slowed this process, Nasr stressed, hence 'the need for small farmers and family landowners to organize themselves for bulk purchases of equipment and supplies to reduce costs and counter this competition.'
A Dominant Model
Three-quarters of family farms worldwide are less than one hectare, according to the FAO, which notes that family farming involves more than half of the workforce in the Global South and 40% of the global workforce.
It engages 2.6 billion people, who produce 70% of the world's food while using only 30% of global agricultural resources. (By contrast, capitalist farming, or agribusiness, produces 30% of food using the remaining 70% of resources, CFSI 2018 source.)
Family farming has not disappeared in so-called 'Global North' countries, where it remains the dominant form of agriculture. However, it is not always accounted for in agricultural statistics, which only record so-called 'professional' farms.
It also persists in the form of rural or urban gardens or as a side activity to supplement small incomes (retirees, workers, etc.).
For the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization), 'Family farming encompasses all agricultural activities based on the family unit, linked to many aspects of rural development.
It includes agricultural, forestry, fisheries, pastoral, and aquaculture production managed by a family, relying primarily on family labor—both men and women.'
