Tunisia has launched a five-year strategy to rescue its drought-shrunken livestock sector, aiming to reverse a nearly 30% drop in national herds since 2016.
The 2026-2030 plan, presented July 2, prioritizes rebuilding cattle and goat herds, expanding fodder production, digitizing monitoring, and strengthening veterinary care. Funded by the state budget and external sources, an initial 10 million dinars ($3.38M) will back small-farmer loan guarantees and purebred breeding incentives.
Persistent drought, soaring feed costs, smuggling, and illegal slaughter have decimated stocks—combined cattle, sheep, and goat numbers fell from 8.37 million to 5.94 million between 2016 and 2022. Red meat output has dropped 10%, while ewe prices have skyrocketed from 300 to 2,500 dinars.
Though recent rainfall has improved conditions, officials caution that recovery will be slow, requiring multiple breeding cycles and sustained farm profitability to stabilize domestic markets.
TunisianMonitorNews
