Two new Technical Cooperation projects were the subject of a signing ceremony which brought together Mr. Oussama Kheriji, Minister of Agriculture, Maritime Fisheries and Water Resources and Mr. Philippe Ankers, FAO Representative in Tunisia and Coordinator for North Africa, who stressed that these are "trigger projects that allow to find solutions, to open bottlenecks so that young people can invest in agriculture. »

The question of investments in favour of young agri-entrepreneurs is considered essential to enhance economic recovery and food security in the aftermath of Covid-19. Young people need support to innovate in order to produce more efficiently and create added value in sectors with important development potential such as agriculture. This will help ensure more resilient food systems, increase access to nutritious food, and create employment opportunities.

Two interdependent poles for young people involving young people

FAO has initiated in 2019, in partnership with the Rural Economy Laboratory of the National Institute of Agronomic Research of Tunisia (INRAT), and in close collaboration with the Agricultural Investment Promotion Agency (APIA), a comprehensive diagnosis aimed at analysing the current situation and proposing concrete recommendations to increase investments by young agri-entrepreneurs. This diagnosis led to a roadmap developed in consultation with young people. One of the main conclusions concerns the need to improve the enabling environment, mainly access to services, including financial services, and the institutional, policy and incentives framework for agricultural investment to enable young people to invest in agricultural value chains.

To this end, funds have been mobilized within the framework of the project "Harnessing Global Instruments and Knowledge Products" to contribute to the realization of this roadmap. In addition to Tunisia, the project targets five other countries including Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Lao People's Democratic Republic and Sierra Leone. In Tunisia, the project has a two pronged approach. Firstly, a think tank will be created to contribute to strengthening the enabling environment for young people to invest in agricultural sectors in Tunisia through policy briefs and institutionalized multi-stakeholder dialogue. This think tank will me managed by INRAT. Secondly, a support centre for young agri-entrepreneurs will be set up and managed by APIA. This will aim to support a selected group of young agri-entrepreneurs to make investments in the dairy-sheep or olive oil sector in North-West Tunisia.

Improving the resilience of the agricultural and agri-food sector to the economic and social impacts caused by the COVID-19 crisis

Since March 2020, and in the midst of a period of containment, the FAO Representation in Tunisia has initiated a monitoring and continuous consultation process with the Ministry of Agriculture, Maritime Fisheries and Hydraulic Resources (MAPRH) to support the country in this crisis. Thus, a joint committee between MAPRH and FAO, which also includes WFP and IFAD was established for the follow-up of the COVID-19 crisis in Tunisia.

This project and its expected results will enable the country to monitor, assess and analyze the risks and impacts of this crisis on agriculture and food security and develop measures to mitigate the negative effects of the crisis. Also, a "Contingency Plan 2020-21" will be developed to support small-scale agriculture to continue producing and marketing their products. An economic intelligence unit on imports will be established. Finally, an "Export Tunisia" platform will be launched in order to provide professionals with the main regulatory, logistical and transport information relating to exports to various third countries. It will be a communication relay between the Ministry on the one hand and producers and exporters on the other hand to facilitate export procedures. It will also facilitate the compilation of approval files for the export of certain agri-food products and their trade with third countries.

Through the implementation of this project, the government will have the information it needs to make informed decisions to manage the crisis caused by Covid-19, and ensure that the recovery will build more resilient and sustainable value chains.