diff --git a/lang/python/tests/Makefile.am b/lang/python/tests/Makefile.am
index 62970765..d9012853 100644
--- a/lang/python/tests/Makefile.am
+++ b/lang/python/tests/Makefile.am
@@ -119,3 +119,7 @@ gpg.conf:
 gpg-agent.conf:
 # This is required for gpg2, which does not support command fd.
 	echo pinentry-program $(abs_top_srcdir)/tests/gpg/pinentry >$@
+	echo disable-scdaemon >> $@
+
+
+# end-of-file
diff --git a/tests/gpg/Makefile.am b/tests/gpg/Makefile.am
index 392fc898..ba2d1f3f 100644
--- a/tests/gpg/Makefile.am
+++ b/tests/gpg/Makefile.am
@@ -105,5 +105,11 @@ gpg.conf:
 	echo no-force-v3-sigs > ./gpg.conf
 
 gpg-agent.conf:
-# This is required for gpg2, which does not support command fd.
+# This is required for gpg2, which does not support command fd for the
+# passphrase.  disable-scdaemon is required so that we don't try using
+# a key from a smartcard reader (error might be: Unusable secret key)
 	echo pinentry-program $(abs_srcdir)/pinentry > ./gpg-agent.conf
+	echo disable-scdaemon >> ./gpg-agent.conf
+
+
+# end-of-file