LESSONS FROM TUNISIA

Tunis, 1997

This case study was written by Abderrahmane Ben Boubaker, consultant, agricultural engineer and expert in participation, for FAO's Women in Development Service, with support from the "Formulation of policy, strategy and plan of action in favour of rural women" project, implemented in Tunisia within the framework of the FAO/Tunisia technical cooperation programme (TCP/TUN/4555). The original language version of the document was edited by Agnèse Le Magadoux.

The opinions expressed in this document are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

PREFACE

This case study examines the lessons drawn from a participatory diagnosis carried out with the population of the Kroumirie-Mogods region, a forest zone in north-west Tunisia. The diagnosis was carried out within the framework of a Tunisian Government (Ministry of Agriculture)/FAO technical cooperation project for the "Formulation of a policy, strategy and plan of action in favour of rural women".

This case study is part of a series of working documents prepared for the workshop on "Gender and Participation in Agricultural Development Planning" to be held in Rome in December 1997. This workshop will bring together representatives from various countries in which FAO has provided institutional support for the design and application of a gender-sensitive participatory approach for the formulation of planning that meets the needs and priorities of men and women. The objectives of the workshop are:

· on the basis of this exchange of experiences, attempt to draw up a framework or model for participatory planning in agricultural development concerned with gender equality;

· exchange the experiences of different projects;

· share this field experience with the competent technical divisions of FAO and examine interaction with complementary FAO programmes, such as the Special Programme for Food Security (SPFS) and the Socio-Economic and Gender Analysis (SEAGA) Programme.

As coordinator, the author of this case study was directly involved in the running of the participatory diagnosis. The content of this document is thus a self-analysis of an initiative experienced, completed and supported by:

· the assessment of other actors and participants in the study (the population, men and women popularizers, local and regional officials);

· consultation and study of all the documents produced to date by the project;

· the use of existing statistical and other data in the course of preparation collected by the TCP through the "Improvement of agricultural statistics" initiative in order to evaluate global agricultural development in Tunisia and the level to which gender issues are taken into account in this development.

ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS

APEH	Association for the Promotion of Employment and Housing
APRM	Accelerated Participatory Research Method
APTA	Agricultural Popularization and Training Agency
AWSC	Association for Water and Soil Conservation
CIA	Collective Interest Association
CIFA	Collective Interest Forestry Association
CWRSDI	Centre for Women's Research, Studies, Documentation and Information
DGDPAI	Directorate-General for Development Planning and Agricultural Investment
DGF	Directorate-General for Forestry
DGFP	Directorate-General for Financing and Patronage
FAO	Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
FDF	French Development Fund
FSDA	Foundation for Self-Development and Solidarity
GAD	Gender and Development
GDP	Gross Domestic Product
HDI	Human Development Index
IRDP	Integrated Rural Development Programme
KFRD	Kef Foundation for Rural Development
MWFA	Ministry for Women and Family Affairs
NGO	Non-Governmental Organization
NSI	National Statistics Institute
OSPDNW	Office for Silvipastoral Development in the North-West
RCAD	Regional Commissioner for Agricultural Development
SEAGA	Socio-Economic and Gender Analysis
SPFS	Special Programme on Food Security
SSI	Semi-Structured Interview
TAFU	Tunisian Agricultural and Fisheries Union
TCP	Technical Cooperation Programme
TFCD	Tunisian Foundation for Community Development
UNDP	United Nations Development Programme
WSC	Water and Soil Conservation

I. INTRODUCTION

With the support of FAO, the Tunisian Ministry of Agriculture is currently preparing a national strategy and plan of action in favour of rural women within the framework of the planning exercise for the country's 9th economic and social plan. In line with the orientation of the five-year development plan, the strategy in favour of women aims above all:

· to take greater account of the "gender" dimension in development programme follow-up indicators, and in tools for the collection and analysis of information and statistical data;

· to support procedures known to be favourable to women's advancement, namely: fishing, intensive agriculture and agro-forestry;

· to establish accompanying measures to support women in their activities, namely credit, training, popularization, diffusion of technology, support for group organization;

· to introduce institutional support measures for the creation of a methodologically competent and qualified "structural element" at all levels of the Ministry of Agriculture (central and regional), to support the implementation, follow-up and evaluation of the plan of action in favour of rural women.

This case study presents different aspects of the application of the participatory method to identify support projects for women's activities in the agro-forestry sector. The structure of the document is as follows:

· presentation of the Tunisian context with particular reference to agricultural development policy and issues related to women in agricultural and rural development;

· the project framework within which the participatory inquiry was carried out;

· description of the process and methodology used to carry out the participatory diagnosis and analysis, with a synthesis of the results that throw light on the development problematic as seen by men and women;

· the experiences and inadequacies revealed on application of the participatory process, putting the emphasis on the lessons learnt as regards:

· the process followed and the choice of Accelerated Participatory Research Method (APRM) tools, their validity in facilitating the participation of women and men, the collection and analysis of information; their limits in terms of interpretation;

· knowledge acquired on the gender-based division of roles in agriculture and their relevance for orienting development planning;

· the development of generated capacities, for the preparation and implementation of participatory diagnosis, within the population and for technicians associated with the process;

· the bases of partnership created between the population and representatives of development bodies;

· the needs to respect at institutional level in order to create a favourable environment for the expansion of a participatory approach integrating gender in the planning and implementation of agricultural development activities.