Beja Governorate
Beja shows keystone species dynamics in food security: one of five governorates producing 74% of Tunisia's wheat, receiving $41M DINAMO project protection after 40% pomegranate harvest collapse.
Beja Governorate illustrates keystone species dynamics in Tunisia's food system—one of five governorates producing 74% of the nation's wheat, making it critical infrastructure for national food security. This eminently rural region experiences higher unemployment than other Tunisian regions, reflecting the tension between agricultural productivity and economic opportunity. The governorate's role as Tunisia's breadbasket triggered the 2024 DINAMO project: a $41 million, eight-year intervention by IFAD and the Tunisian government to protect this vital wheat belt through water infrastructure, agroforestry systems, and 250 rainwater cisterns with solar pumps. Beja demonstrates niche partitioning through specialized value chains—olive oil, Black Thibar sheep breeding, and aromatic plants offer entrepreneurial pathways for youth in a region where conventional employment remains scarce. The FAO-supported Agri-accelerator Hub (established 2021) represents adaptive management: recognizing that preserving agricultural keystone function requires cultivating new economic species within the ecosystem. Climate stress exposes system fragility—the 2023 pomegranate harvest collapsed 40% to just 10,000 tonnes, while persistent drought threatens the cereals on which Tunisia depends. Beja functions as the nation's digestive system: essential for survival but undervalued until malfunction threatens the whole organism.