Tunisia-Béja: Abandoned for three years, 17 thousand quintals of seeds destroyed

Members of the Agriculture Committee of the House of People’s Representatives moved to the delegation of Kbolat, Beja governorate, to investigate 17,000 quintals of selected seeds left in the open, and damaged due to poor storage.

The cost of the seed, which has been piled in the open for more than three agricultural seasons without being used, is valued at 2.5 million dinars. This is occurring at a time when the state is importing large amounts of grain in hard currency.

According to the president of the agriculture committee, Moez Hajj Rhouma, these rotten seeds are under the direction of the Central Cooperative of Seeds and Selected Plants (CCSPS), a centre of significant overruns that have made it a weak and bankrupt company.

“The worst part is that according to the data we have received, the general manager who ran this company at the time of the seed storage has been transferred to a new position,” he adds.

Note that Tunisia had imported, until the month of November, about 2,350 thousand tons of grain, worth 1,494.5 million dinars.

Last year, the agriculture ministry stated that national cereal production covers only 50% of the country’s needs, while selected seeds represent barely 20% of production.