The President of the Tunisian Farmers’ Union, Midani Dhaoui, warned on Tuesday, January 13, 2026, of growing difficulties facing the large-scale crop sector at various stages of production, stressing the urgent need to ensure the availability of ammonium nitrate fertilizer during this sensitive phase of the agricultural season.
In a statement to Tunisie Numérique, Dhaoui explained that after partially overcoming the shortage of DAP fertilizer, farmers are now confronted with a lack of ammonium nitrate. He said that the union has received numerous complaints from farmers across several regions, all pointing to the scarcity of this essential input at a time when cereal crops critically depend on it.
He recalled that during the 2024–2025 agricultural season, production reached around 12 million quintals for the benefit of the state. However, at the start of the current season, insufficient availability of seeds forced many farmers to change their cropping plans and shift toward alternative crops, particularly fodder.
Addressing the issue of the Natural Disaster Compensation Fund, Dhaoui noted that farmers had paid their contributions for the 2023–2024 and 2024–2025 seasons but did not receive compensation when disasters occurred. He described it as unacceptable that farmers are once again being asked to subscribe, despite not having obtained their dues, especially given the very short ten-day deadline, which he considered unrealistic and burdensome.
The head of the Tunisian Farmers’ Union urged the authorities to take into account the difficult situation of farmers as key contributors to national food production, and to ensure the rapid provision of ammonium nitrate, particularly following recent rainfall. He emphasized that this is a highly sensitive period for plant growth and called for an effective solution to guarantee fair distribution of the fertilizer among the main agricultural regions.
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