Three million Tunisians are at risk of food insecurity

At least three million Tunisians are at risk of food insecurity, warned President of the Tunisian Center for Global Security Studies Ezzeddine Zayani, according to the official Tunis Afrique Presse (TAP).

Zayani made the remarks at a conference held in the capital Tunis themed “Food Security and Sovereignty and the Right to Food in Tunisia.”

Referring to a report on food security in 2022 published by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Zayani warned of the serious food situation in the world and particularly in Tunisia, where Zayani said: “the threat is evident.”

He called for taking necessary measures and precautions to deal with this threat which has been intensified due to inflation and the deterioration of households’ purchasing power.

At the conference, Zayani also mentioned that Tunisia’s agricultural growth has registered an alarming decline of about 3 percent in 2022.

Noting climate change and a three-year low rainfall have resulted in a stifling water shortage in Tunisia, Zayani called on the government to resort to measures, in particular, desalinating seawater and supporting farmers concerned, to avoid food poverty.

According to the National Company of Water Exploitation and Distribution, the water withdrawal per capita in Tunisia is fewer than 450 cubic meters, well below the absolute water scarcity threshold of 1,000 cubic meters.