Does Agricultural Intensification Enhance Rural Wellbeing? A Structural Model Assessment at the Sub-Communal Level: A Case Study in Tunisia

We examined the impact of agricultural intensification on the wellbeing of rural communities in a developing country on a sub-communal scale. To measure the interactions within this complex causal relationship, a statistical approach was applied, using partial least squares path modeling (PLS-PM) in its formative structure. Using PLS-PM to simultaneously relate the measured variables (manifest variables) and conceptual variables (latent variables), while incorporating other variables, such as the bioclimate and demography, we characterized the spatial structure of the links between intensive agriculture and wellbeing. The aim was to facilitate government intervention aiming to improve the wellbeing of rural households, while avoiding cumbersome and costly surveys when the scope of public action is extended to a region or a country. Our findings show that the generalization of the productivist system is not always appropriate in developing countries. In our case study, employment in the secondary and tertiary sectors is insufficient to accommodate the rural exodus. In such situations, agricultural intensification leads to poverty and migration to the areas of production and increases disparities in social wellbeing in rural areas.