Les territoires ruraux de montagne en Tunisie, entre marginalisation et perspectives de transition. Éléments d’analyse depuis le Jbel Bargou

Abstract

In Tunisia, mountain territories have been little concerned in recent decades by rural and agricultural development policies. Moreover, they have been partially addressed in scientific productions, which have often only proposed reflections on pastoralism or the degradation of forest resources. While the lack of knowledge about them is an additional factor of their marginalization, this article intends to offer a new look at the rural mountain territories in Tunisia, in a post-2011 revolution context that invites questions about the development of interior regions. To do this, it draws on the results of a series of interviews conducted in 2020 with researchers, representatives of agricultural services and farmers of Jbel Bargou. By restoring and comparing their discourse, this text provides elements for reflection on the prospects for transition of rural mountain territories in Tunisia. He indicates that the lack of a "collective" among farmers is, for the time being, an obstacle to the implementation of innovative agricultural practices, and specifies that this situation is mainly the result of inadequate and partly outdated action by agricultural services.

Keywords

• development
• mountain
• deprived area
• territorial transition