The functional structure of a WSS describes how roles, interactions, and processes, ranging from varietal development to seed adoption, are organized and coordinated among various actors. Unlike formal governance models that emphasize mandates and rules, a functional perspective focuses on real-world processes, including knowledge flows, decision-making, and power dynamics (Mulesa et al., 2021; Westengen et al., 2023).

In Tunisia, the main WSS functions were identified through a targeted literature review of peer-reviewed articles, institutional reports, and expert assessments. This review informed the construction of an initial analytical framework, which included categories such as varietal development, strategic governance, seed production, quality control, distribution, technical support, and farmer access. The framework was further refined through interviews with actors from public institutions, research institutions, private sector, and professional organizations. Table 1 presents the final set of functional categories, along with their operational definitions and relevant references.

Building on these functional categories, a preliminary actor mapping was developed (Figure 2) to visualize the WSS structure. This mapping served as a reference point for interview sampling and for the design of the network analysis.

Data were collected through semi-structured interviews using a guide tailored to the diverse profiles of actors involved in Tunisia’s WSS. Based on the actor mapping (Figure 2), 25 actors (15 men and 10 women) were purposively selected using criterion-based sampling to ensure representation across WSS functions and governance levels (Table 2).

The sample included representatives from public institutions, research institutions, private sector, and professional organizations. All interviewed farmers were also active members of collective entities such as SMSAs or GDAs, often serving in leadership roles.

The sampling strategy aimed to capture diversity in institutional type, geographical coverage (national, regional, local), and functional role, while limiting initial bias regarding actor centrality. The final sample size of 25 interviews was deemed sufficient to reach thematic saturation and map key interaction patterns.

In centralized institutions such as the DGPA and OC, one representative per organization, or a synthesis of multiple inputs, was selected reflecting their unified mandates and centralized decision-making structures. In contrast, the private sector sample was more diversified, including 7 collectors–distributors (out of 23) and 3 seed production companies (out of 4), in order to capture heterogeneity in capacity, business models, and regional coverage.

During the interviews, participants were asked to provide:

This structured information was used to build weighted relational matrices, capturing the intensity and characteristics of actor relationships across functions, a common approach in applied SNA studies.

SNA provides a framework for understanding a group of actors by mapping the relationships that connect its members as a network. It enables the identification of key groups within the network and the analysis of interactions among actors (Bahri and Widhyharto, 2021; Allipour Birgani et al., 2022).

Networks consist of nodes (actors) connected by ties or links, often visualized through sociograms. SNA focuses on describing relationships between actors and examining their effects at both the network and individual levels (Prota et al., 2018; Allipour Birgani et al., 2022).

The SNA was conducted using Gephi (version 0.10.1), an open-source software widely used for network visualization and analysis.

The results were interpreted based on main indicators, calculated using the following formulas:

Actors were assigned to their primary functional domain (Table 1), allowing for both general and function-specific network visualizations and metrics. Relational matrices were constructed to map interactions both within and across functions, highlighting key nodes, structural gaps, and coordination patterns.

To ensure relevance and accuracy, a multi-stakeholder validation workshop was conducted with representatives from key public institutions (OC, DGPA, CRDA, AVFA, INGC, INRAT), the private actors (seed companies, collectors-distributors), and professional organizations. Participants reviewed the functional framework, discussed the observed network patterns, and reflected on emerging constraints and opportunities. This process grounded the analysis in practitioner realities, strengthened its empirical robustness, and enhanced the legitimacy of proposed recommendations.

The SNA results (Table 3; Figure 3) indicate that the OC and DGPA have the highest interaction levels, connecting with 12 and 9 actors, respectively, with weighted degrees of 67 and 62, reflecting frequent and intensive interactions. The CRDA interacts with 7 actors, with a weighted degree of 13, indicating a more localized coordination role. Closeness centrality further highlights the strategic positions of OC (0.739) and DGPA (0.586), while CRDA is moderately lower (0.548).

The OC and DGPA occupy central positions in the WSS, directing decision-making, regulation, and institutional coordination. The OC regulates the certified seed market, ensuring quality and managing procurement and distribution, while coordinating grain collectors, seed distributors, and seed companies to deliver wheat varieties with national production targets and regional agroecological conditions. The DGPA directs seed production targets, supervises multiplication with seed companies, implements incentives for certified seed adoption, enforces regulations, monitors production, manages storage, and allocates seed quotas across governorates in collaboration with the CRDA. At the regional level, the CRDA coordinates seed availability and distribution according to farmers’ and collectors-distributors’ demand, ensuring alignment with available varieties and local agroclimatic conditions. The functional differentiation underscores the strategic influence of regional and intermediary actors in linking national policies to local implementation.

Seed companies operate across the WSS value chain, from production and certification to distribution, while ensuring regulatory compliance. They interact with 3 to 5 actors, including the DGPA, DGSVCIA (a public institution overseeing plant health standards, seed quality, and certification), INRAT and OC, with weighted degrees of 47 and 27, and closeness centrality scores of 0.566 and 0.500. Their participation in national and regional commissions, alongside public institutions (OC, DGPA, CRDA), highlights their strategic role in coordination operations and information flows. These positions demonstrate that seed companies act as critical intermediaries, bridging national-level directives with regional implementation.

Collectors-distributors, including service companies and authorized points of sale, operate locally to supply seeds to farmers while maintaining an intermediary role between national institutions and end-users. They interact with an average of 3 actors, notably the CRDA, OC and professional organizations, occasionally with the DGPA. Their weighted degrees, ranging from 22 to 31, reflect moderate but significant interactions, while closeness centrality of 0.480 indicates an intermediate yet strategically important position, enabling them to link OC with farmers. These intermediary actors play a key role in bridging national directives and local seed distribution, despite their lower formal rank.

While OC and DGPA remain central, the SNA reveals structural dependencies and coordination bottlenecks, identifying the CRDA, seed companies, and collectors-distributors as key leverage points to strengthen regional coordination, improve information flows, and enhance certified seed adoption. Peripheral actors, including DGFIOP (a public institution responsible for agricultural investment policies, subsidies, and coordination with professional organizations), DGSVCIA, and INRAT, exhibit low connectivity, with degrees between 3 and 4, weighted degrees ranging from 10 to 15, and closeness scores of 0.414 to 0.472, reflecting limited involvement in strategic governance decisions.

SNA results (Table 3; Figure 4) reveal dense collaboration around the OC and CRDA. The OC interacts with 13 actors, with a weighted degree of 94, while the CRDA interacts with 10 actors, with a weighted degree of 117, reflecting their pivotal roles in disseminating information within the WSS. The DGPA interacts with 9 actors (weighted degree 91), occupying an intermediate but strategically significant network position. Large-scale collectors-distributors interact with 9 actors (weighted degree 62), while medium-scale groups have lower connectivity (weighted degrees 63 and 35), reflecting more localized roles. Notably, weak direct interaction between DGPA and CRDA points to potential bottlenecks in vertical information flow, highlighting areas where coordination could be strengthened.

The DGPA and large-scale collectors-distributors exhibit high closeness centrality (0.850 and 0.701, respectively), reflecting their structurally important positions in the information network. They act as critical bridges, linking WSS segments and facilitating information flow. The lack of a direct connection between DGPA and OC indicates a potential bottleneck in vertical information exchange among central actors.

The OC serves as a central hub in the information network, connecting extensively with producers and collectors-distributors. It enhances seed market transparency by publishing data on certified seed availability, governorate quotas, and official pricing, allowing downstream actors to anticipate supply, adjust purchasing, and plan production. The CRDA coordinates regional seed supply, collecting information on quantities, species, and varieties and transmitting it to the DGPA, ensuring allocations meet local demand and enhancing the WSS’s adaptability and efficiency.

At the central level, the DGPA serves a key information hub, consolidating data from the CRDA and the National Agricultural Observatory (ONAGRI). It disseminates updated on seed availability, pricing, and potential surpluses or shortages, enabling both operational adjustments and policy guidance. The DGPA also channels information on improved species and varieties from INRAT and publishes national statistics on producers, cultivated areas, reinforcing its strategic role in evidence-based governance of Tunisia’s WSS.

Collectors-distributors serve a critical intermediary role, conveying information on seasonal seed demand to producers and aggregating farmers’ orders for the CRDA. This supports accurate regional planning and alignment between local demand and available seed supplies. Differences in network weight reflects actor profiles, with larger collectors occupying more central positions due to broader market coverage and stronger operational capacity, while smaller actors maintain localized connections. INRAT interacts with 4 actors, with a weighted degree of 57 and a closeness centrality of 0.557, reflecting its role as a knowledge-generation node. Its strong link with the CRDA facilitates the transfer of scientific information to farmers and allows for field-level feedback.

Former cooperative seed companies (notably the Central Seed Mutual Company – COSEM, which was the most frequently cited by interviewees) interact with 5 actors, with a weighted degree of 35, and closeness centrality of 0.542. Despite limited connectivity, INRAT and these cooperative-based companies actively disseminate technical knowledge on variety types, crop management, and morphological traits, supporting informed decision-making among farmers and collectors-distributors. This illustrates that actors with moderate formal network positions can exert strategic influence by facilitating critical knowledge flows. In contrast, actors such as INGC, DGSVCIA, AVFA and DGFIOP occupy peripheral positions (Figure 3), with low centrality scores, indicating limited connectivity and reduced capacity to shape knowledge dissemination.

SNA results (Table 3; Figure 5) indicate that the CRDA and AVFA are the most connected actors, interacting with 15 and 11 actors and displaying weighted degrees of 165 and 164, respectively. They occupy strategic positions in farmer support and awareness-raising, serving as central nodes for knowledge dissemination and coordination within the WSS. INRAT and INGC follow, connected to 9 and 8 actors with weighted degrees of 88, reflecting moderate but meaningful integration. Closeness centrality highlights their roles, with the CRDA at 1, AVFA at 0.821, and INGC and INRAT ranging from 0.675 to 0.701. These metrics indicate that CRDA and AVFA drive awareness and training initiatives, INRAT and INGC provide technical expertise reinforcing knowledge flows to farmers and intermediaries.

At the regional level, the CRDA, in collaboration with INRAT, INGC, collectors-distributors and AVFA, plays a key role in farmer awareness and support, promoting certified wheat seeds and best agronomic practices. Closely connected to farmers and aware of their socio-economic conditions, these actors organize training sessions and awareness campaigns tailored to local needs. The AVFA disseminates agricultural practices, enhancing farmers’ knowledge through training, technical information, and awareness campaigns in coordination with collectors-distributors, INRAT, and CRDA. A national cereal extension program, implemented with INGC, targets farm-saved wheat seeds, which account for roughly 80% of total wheat seed use, improving quality toward certified standards and strengthening seed security. Working closely with the CRDA, AVFA, and INGC, the INRAT promotes the adoption of new varieties through field trials and demonstration plots, allowing farmers to observe innovations firsthand. Although its direct reach to farmers is mediated by intermediaries, INRAT exerts strategic influence by providing technical knowledge adapted to local socio-economic and regional contexts.

Collectors-distributors demonstrate moderate integration within the WSS network. Large-scale collectors interacts with 7 actors (weighted degree of 69) and the medium-scale collectors with 8 actors (weighted degree of 72), both with similar closeness centrality scores of 0.583. Many are also farmers or represent farmer groups, collaborating closely with the AVFA. Their field-level connections enable them to act as strategic intermediaries, channeling agricultural practices and innovations to farmers, with influence shaped by local context and network position.

Seed companies provide technical guidance on improved varieties and cultivation techniques and organize training sessions with CRDA, AVFA, INGC, and INRAT, supporting knowledge dissemination and fostering innovation within the WSS. Local-level actors, such as SMSAs and GDAs, maintain direct links with farming communities, primarily through CRDA, AVFA and collectors-distributors. With moderate closeness centrality (0.432) and weighted degrees of 50 (SMSAs) and 68 (GDAs), they are not central but act strategically as information relays. Their peripheral positions highlight untapped potential to support extension services and facilitate two-way communication between farmers and institutional actors, particularly in community-based contexts.

These results demonstrate that strategic influence in the WSS emerges from functional roles and interactions, not just network centrality, with moderately connected actors serving as critical leverage points for knowledge transfer, coordination, and adoption of certified wheat seeds.

Results of the financing function (Table 3; Figure 6) indicate that the OC, National Agricultural Bank (BNA), and other banking institutions, including microfinance organizations, have the highest collaboration frequencies, interacting with 7, 5, and 4 actors, respectively. Their weighted degrees, 65 for the OC, 31 for BNA, and 36 for other banks, reflect the intensity and diversity of financial interactions within the WSS. Collectors-distributors (large-scale) collaborate with 3 actors, with a weighted degree of 36, indicating moderate financial integration through ties with major banks. Closeness centrality highlights their positions, with the OC at 1, BNA at 0.723, and other banks and collectors-distributors ranging between 0.613 and 0.610.

These findings indicate that OC and BNA occupy strategic positions in the financing network, playing central roles in facilitating and coordinating financial flows across actors. The Ministry of Agriculture promotes certified wheat seeds adoption by providing subsidies covering about 30% of production costs. These subsidies are managed by OC through a dedicated public fund within the annual State budget, highlighting how central actors leverage financial mechanisms to influence adoption and resource allocation across the WSS.

Collectors-distributors must demonstrate financial capacity, for example through certified checks, to ensure sound management and efficient stock control, mainly through interactions with OC, BNA and other banks. The subsidy system, however, constitutes a major bottleneck. Its complexity and administrative requirements, managed by the OC, can create a financial lag, as investments in breeder seeds are made before subsidy disbursement, affecting farmers’ cash flow and operational efficiency.

The BNA plays a key role by providing short-term loans to cover farmers’ operational needs and input procurement for production, processing, packaging, and marketing. Other institutions, such as the Tunisian Solidarity Bank (BTS), offer preferential-rate loans to support seed and inputs purchase, financing cereal campaigns and contributing to sector sustainability.

Collectors-distributors provide supplier credit to farmers, enabling purchases wheat seeds, fertilizers, equipment, and other inputs. Operating under OC’s supervision, they play a pivotal role in ensuring timely and efficient production. In contrast, the DGFIOP, despite its formal mandate in agricultural financing, occupies a peripheral position in the WSS network, with low closeness centrality (0.202) and a moderate weighted degree (36). Its limited involvement reflects a focus on strategic and administrative functions, focused on policy design and fund, while operational responsibilities are delegated to OC and banking institutions. This highlights how formal authority does not always translate into operational influence, with network integration and functional engagement shaping actors’ impact on financial flows.

In the production and commercialization function, seed companies are key structuring actors. Large-scale companies have maximum closeness centrality (1.000), a weighted degree of 117, and eigenvector centrality of 0.560, reflecting their pivotal role in coordinating seed flows. Smaller, localized companies show a weighted degree of 54, with high closeness (0.829) and significant eigenvector centrality (0.522) (Table 3; Figure 7).

Producers (other farmers) and multiplier farmers occupy complementary positions within the production and commercialization network. Producers have a high weighted degree (81), moderate closeness centrality (0.530), and eigenvector centrality of 0.442, indicating strong integration into distribution channels. Multiplier farmers with a weighted degree of 61, higher closeness centrality (0.594), and eigenvector centrality of 0.479, act as intermediaries between seed companies and final users. They play a critical role in seed production, controlled wheat seed multiplication, ensuring compliance with quality standards.

The OC plays a central role in the production and commercialization network, interacting with 7 actors and showing a high weighted degree of 107. Its closeness centrality of 0.725 indicates a strategic position as an information hub and coordinator. As a key actor, the OC facilitates wheat seed circulation, implementations quality policies, and connects collectors-distributors with seed companies, thus structuring and securing certified seeds production and distribution.

Collectors-distributors have weighted degree ranging from 24 to 39 and closeness centrality between 0.59 and 0.73, reflecting substantial interactions and good network integration. Their position enables them to coordinate effectively between producers and the OC, ensuring smooth circulation of certified seeds and supporting the implementation of quality standards across the network.

Certified wheat seed production is carried out through contractual arrangements between seed companies and multipliers. The process follows a rigorous certification procedure, with systematic quality controls during production and commercialization. Production volumes are determined by orders from collectors-distributors. Seed companies report variety-specific data to the OC, which allocates quantities based on estimated farmer demand at the governorate level. As the monopoly holder, the OC supervises cereal purchasing and commercialization, organizes storage through collectors-distributors, and oversees national marketing. Collectors-distributors ensure the timely seed availability at their centers while maintaining direct commercial links with farmers.

INRAT occupies a relatively peripheral position in the production and marketing network, with 5 interactions, a weighted degree of 60, and low closeness centrality (0.325), reflecting its upstream role in varietal research and breeder seed production rather than direct commercial flows. Nevertheless, INRAT remains structurally important by developing high-performing varieties. These varieties are licensed to seed companies under commercial agreements, reinforcing INRAT’s central scientific contribution to the WSS and its indirect influence on network efficiency.

Functional SNA reveals that the network’s efficiency hinges not only on the structural centrality of seed companies but also critically on the operational roles of multiplier farmers and collectors-distributors, which ensure coordination, quality compliance, and timely seed distribution across the system.

The governance of Tunisia’s WSS combines central and territorial actors, whose interactions determine coordination, decision-making, and information flows. At the central level, the OC and the DGPA occupy strategic positions by regulating, planning, and financing wheat seed-related activities.

However, this concentration of authority entails risks of dependency and administrative rigidity, which can slow decision-making and disproportionately burden smallholders (Mulesa et al., 2021; Monticone et al., 2024). Strengthening the autonomy, resources, and decision-making capacities of other actors is therefore critical for achieving more balanced and resilient governance.

Territorial actors, particularly the CRDA and collectors-distributors, serve as essential intermediaries between central authorities to farmers. Their functional positions complement those of central actors by facilitating local coordination, supporting decision-making, and ensuring timely seed distribution. Enhancing their capacities through training, digitalization, and gradual, balanced, and coordinated decentralization would enable them to serve as effective conduits of innovation and system resilience, improving information flows, adoption of certified seeds, and overall network efficiency (Akpo et al., 2020; Westengen et al., 2023; De Boef et al., 2025).

Formalized partnerships between central and territorial actors, including the DGPA, OC, CRDA, INGC, INRAT, and seed companies, could institutionalize shared responsibilities, enhance transparent governance, and provide mutual incentives. By promoting participatory decision-making and reducing coordination bottlenecks, such frameworks would foster trust among actors, encourage private sector investment in varietal research, and strengthen the production and distribution of certified seeds (Aseete et al., 2023; Mishra et al., 2025).

Inclusive governance platforms, integrating public institutions, private companies and farmer organizations can further improve coordination, system resilience, and investment in WSS (Shilomboleni et al., 2023). By reducing institutional bottlenecks and promoting participatory decision-making, such platforms trust among actors and support efficient production, distribution, and adoption of certified seeds (Westengen et al., 2023).

Strengthening local organizational structures, through the formalization of small and medium-sized collectors into larger cooperatives or well-structured associations, enable their active participation in governance bodies and strategic seed commissions. This formalization strengthens the overall efficiency of the system, facilitates broader adoption of certified seeds, and reinforces the resilience of the WSS (Sisay et al., 2017; Jaleta et al., 2023).

Enhancing the digital capacities of intermediary actors, such as the OC, the CRDA and collectors- distributors, is crucial for improving information flow within the WSS. Integrated digital platform providing real-time, geo-referenced data accessible via mobile devices can support timely and well-informed decision-making (Bolfe et al., 2020). Coupled with training and feedback channels that allow farmers to report field observations, these tools enable adaptive adjustments to production and distribution strategies. Such measures reduce information asymmetries, strengthen coordination, and promote broader adoption of certified wheat varieties (Manevska-Tasevska et al., 2021; Adamsone-Fiskovica and Grivins, 2022).

Digital and participatory approaches demonstrate the potential of combining technology with adaptive governance to improve information flows in seed systems. Such mechanisms, including mobile platforms, e-learning tools, and real-time databases, can enhance coordination among sector actors, facilitate timely decision-making, and provide tailored guidance to farmers (Balogun et al., 2022; Abate et al., 2023). By overcoming geographical and informational barriers, these tools support continuous learning, improve the adoption of innovations, and strengthen the responsiveness and efficiency of the wheat seed system in Tunisia (Abate et al., 2023).

Integrating digitalization with participatory and adaptive governance can substantially improve information flow, enhance system responsiveness, and support broader adoption of certified seeds in Tunisia. Implementing digital tools that enable real-time stock and demand management, prioritize regional needs, ensure transparent exchanges among actors, and provide traceability of seed value chain can strengthen decision-making, reduce mismatches between supply and demand, and foster trust and accountability throughout the wheat seed system.

The collaboration between public institutions (AVFA, CRDA, INGC, INRAT) and private actors (seed companies, collectors–distributors) establishes a continuous technical support system for farmers. Formalizing these partnerships through clear framework agreements and shared objectives combined with systematic monitoring and evaluation, can enhance coordination, track impact, and support the continuous improvement of the WSS (Rattunde et al., 2021; Joshi and Braun, 2022).

Integrating experienced seed multiplier farmers into extension activities leverages their local knowledge and credibility, facilitating the adoption of improved wheat varieties and agronomic practices. Through demonstrations, experimental plots, and innovation platforms, these farmers provide practical tools for locally validating new varieties and techniques, fostering co-construction and context-specific adaptation. Their dual role as both seed producers and extension intermediaries positions them as pivotal actors in bridging research outputs with on-farm practices, thereby strengthening system effectiveness (Steinke et al., 2022; Gharbi et al., 2025).

Lead farmers, recognized for their technical expertise and community credibility, further extend the reach of extension programs. By reporting farmers’ observations and needs, they ensure that extension content remains relevant and actionable, while also facilitating local adaptation of innovations. Acting as both practitioners and communicators, lead farmers play a pivotal role in linking research with adoption, enhancing the overall impact and sustainability of extension efforts (Van Campenhout et al., 2017; Antwi-Agyei and Stringer, 2021).

Financing constitutes a key structural factor for the effective functioning of the WSS. Seasonal loans from the BNA facilitate farmers’ access to inputs, equipment, and operational resources, while the OC manages subsidies, reimbursing farmers for part of certified seed costs and overseeing national seed allocation. Alternative mechanisms, such as supplier credit from collectors–distributors, exist but remain constrained by their economic capacity. Strengthening financial resilience therefore requires improved coordination among banks, public institutions, and seed system actors, potentially through structured public–private partnerships. Tailored instruments, including microcredits, credit guarantees for seed producers, and agricultural insurance covering climatic and phytosanitary risks, could enhance sector stability and ensure timely access to essential resources (Kayongo and Mathiassen, 2023; Otieno et al., 2023). Collectors–distributors should operate under clear contractual frameworks, with robust monitoring and traceability mechanisms to mitigate financial risks.

Simplifying Tunisia’s current subsidy system could further support investment in certified seed production. Reducing administrative complexity, implementing advance or staggered disbursements, and improving transparency would improve cash flow for farmers, reduce bottlenecks, and incentivize greater participation in seed production (Opie et al., 2022; Alawode, 2025).

Collaboration between public and private financial institutions, including guarantee funds and preferential-rate credits, as well as cooperative banks and specialized credit schemes, can improve access to finance for seed producers and multipliers, supporting the expansion of certified seed production. These insights suggest that combining tailored financial instruments with enhanced institutional coordination can boost resilience and promote sustainable investment within the WSS (Rafik et al., 2021; Yigezu et al., 2021; Gemechu et al., 2024).