More than 30,000 farmers will benefit from Draft Law No. 60 of 2025 on the regularization of unpaid agricultural debts, Abdeljalil El Heni, Chairman of the Finance and Budget Committee of the Assembly of People’s Representatives (ARP) said during a study day.
The text consists of three articles that were amended during committee discussions. The first amended article stipulates that public and private banks are required to settle the debts of farmers and companies operating in the agricultural sector classified in category 4 and above, through rescheduling the principal over a maximum period of seven years, including a one-year grace period, deducting late-payment penalties, and canceling 50% of the contractual interest applied.
The second article concerns the Central Bank of Tunisia (BCT), which will set the conditions and procedures for the application and implementation of the law within 15 days from the date of its publication in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Tunisia (JORT).
The BCT will also automatically remove all negative banking classifications of farmers and agricultural companies benefiting from the law once rescheduling and settlement agreements are adopted.
Excluded from the provisions of the law are debts that are the subject of legal proceedings for crimes of corruption or money laundering, except in cases of final acquittal.
The third article concerns debts as defined in the first article that are classified by the BCT in category 4 and above as of September 30, 2025. The provisions of this article will apply until December 31, 2026.
Call for exemption from late-payment penalties
During his address, the committee chairman recalled that 90% of debts classified in categories 4 and 5 by the BCT relate to the agricultural sector, resulting from the difficulties the sector has faced in recent years, particularly following the COVID-19 pandemic.
In this context, El Heni stressed the need to adopt an exemption from late-payment penalties to settle agricultural debts and facilitate the reintegration of sector investors (farmers and agri-food processing companies) into the economic cycle, noting that classification in categories 4 and 5 hinders their access to financing from other banks.
He added that the exemption will apply to both public and private banks, along with an amendment to the rate of deduction of contractual interest and the cancellation of late interest, in order to allow sector operators to regain access to financing.
He also recalled that agriculture is a strategic sector linked to food security and national sovereignty, noting that the sector includes more than 33,000 farmers and 4,785 agricultural companies, in addition to individual operators.
