Abstract
The 2007-2008 food crisis and the most recent one associated with the covid-19 pandemic renewed the debate on agricultural and food policies in southern countries, particularly around the export versus local production dilemma. Having adopted structural adjustment programs since the mid-1980s, and subsequently consolidated the liberalization of their agricultural policies, the Maghreb countries were not immune from the 2006-2008 food crisis and have suffered the full brunt of the effects of the Covid-19 crisis. These crises have highlighted the risks of heavy dependence on imports and the fragility of food security based on international trade. They therefore invite a rethinking of choices in terms of agricultural and food policies by paying more attention to national food production.