Emerging Technologies and Management of Crop Stress Tolerance

Chapter 21

The Vulnerability of Tunisian Agriculture to Climate Change

Mohsen Mansour and Mohamed Hachicha

In the context of assessing the vulnerability of the agricultural sector in Tunisia, the effect of climate change on semiarid agriculture, mainly rain-fed crops, has been evaluated using crop models and climatic studies. In Tunisia, rain-fed agriculture represents the main livelihood for the large rural population, so any additional pressure on water demand will affect the sector and, as a consequence, the socioeconomic development and stability of the country. The variability in cereal production can be directly explained by the fluctuation of rainfall and the rise in temperature combined with a decrease in precipitation; this may have ...