A Song of Soil and Seeds: The Delicious History of Tunisian Grain Agriculture and Its Solution to Contemporary Food Scarcity.

“A Song of Soil and Seeds: The Delicious History of Tunisian Cereal Agriculture and Its Solution to Contemporary Food Scarcity” by Ella Schonberger explores the history of Tunisian grain agriculture as a continuous narrative of adaptation, resilience, and colonial disruption. This thesis traces the historical journey of Tunisian grain agriculture, from its indigenous Amazigh roots through successive waves of Roman, Ottoman, and French agro-colonialism, to the environmental and agricultural pressures of the Green Revolution and today’s climate crisis. Combining archaeological evidence, historical records, agronomic research, oral interviews, and firsthand culinary experimentation, this paper examines how Tunisia’s heirloom grains—sorghum, millet, and durum wheat—have evolved under shifting power structures while retaining deep cultural and ecological significance. This study critiques agro-colonialism’s role in replacing indigenous landrace grains with monocrop agriculture, leading to food insecurity and environmental degradation. By reframing these grains as historical artifacts, archives of cultural memory, and solutions for the future, this thesis highlights their broader significance in the present day. It argues that combining Indigenous Amazigh knowledge, modern science, and culinary pleasure through the re-adoption of heirloom grains is essential to restoring agricultural resilience in the face of climate change in Tunisia and beyond.