Lock-Ins and Innovation by Reactivation of Neglected and Underutilised Date Varieties in Tunisia

This paper examines how the reactivation of neglected and underutilised species can constitute a form of innovation within agri-food regimes structured by strong lock-ins. Focusing on Tunisia’s dominant Deglet Noor variety, it analyses how regime-level lock-ins constrain the reactivation and scaling of local date varieties in Kebili. Drawing on 48 semi-structured interviews and documentary analysis, the paper identifies interacting agronomic, technological, market, governance and socio-cognitive lock-ins and shows how they reinforce one another along the value chain. Policy bias, infrastructures calibrated to Deglet Noor, and downstream price and investment incentives favour sorting-gap Deglet Noor products and crowd out local date production, processing and demand formation. Reactivating local date varieties involves recombining devalued resources and know-how with contemporary market and organisational arrangements. This process can be conceptualised as an innovation by reactivation. The analysis identifies the mechanisms that must be loosened for this pathway to scale.