Mr. Mahmoud Elyes Hamza, Minister of Agriculture, Hydraulic Resources and Maritime Fisheries and Mr. Philippe Ankers, FAO Representative in Tunisia and Coordinator of the sub-regional office for North Africa proceeded today, during a ceremony at the headquarters of the Ministry, to the signing of two new complementary projects : "Stimulating responsible investment in agriculture and food systems of young agri-entrepreneurs for the promotion of territorial development and strengthening of value chains" and "Opportunities for Youth in Africa (OYA): Accelerating job creation in agriculture and agribusiness in Tunisia" . This signature is a concrete expression of the continuous technical support provided by FAO to Tunisia in order to stimulate responsible investment in agriculture and food systems by young agri-entrepreneurs and the creation of decent jobs for sustainable development.

Expanding efforts that started in 2019

With the primary objective of improving food security, territorial development and economic recovery in Tunisia, these two new projects represent the continuation of two previous projects implemented by FAO in partnership with the Agency for the Promotion of Agricultural Investments (APIA) and the National Institute of Agronomic Research of Tunisia (INRAT) since 2019. 

A first phase (2019-2020) entitled "Developing and deploying a comprehensive capacity analysis tool to enable youth to invest and benefit from responsible agricultural investments" focused on applied research on responsible investments via an innovative approach, focused on territorialized value chains and their capacity to offer investment opportunities and better inclusion of youth. This project allowed to test the methodological tool produced by FAO and to adapt it to the Tunisian context through the conduction of an in-depth national analysis and the dissemination and valorization of pedagogical and scientific knowledge on the issue. This process also led to a national roadmap for action, validated in February 2020.

The second phase, "Support for responsible investment in agriculture and food systems", has enabled the roadmap to be operationalized through the creation of two clusters. First, a young agri-entrepreneurs' investment (PRIJA) think tank was set up as a multi-stakeholder platform led by INRAT. The PRIJA has been tasked with devising concrete solutions to implement the roadmap. To that end, it counts with three working groups: (i) coordination and efficiency of support institutions; (ii) financing and investment incentives; and (iii) communication and access to information. Secondly, APIA has set up an Agri-accelerator Hub with the support of FAO, allowing direct support to young agri-entrepreneurs following the recommendations of PRIJA.

Towards the institutionalization of responsible agricultural investment

The responsible investment approach in a nutshell is based on a triple « P« performance of investments: (i) Profits for the investor (ii) People: a positive socio-economic impact for communities and finally (iii) Planet: protects and uses natural resources in a sustainable way. It refers to investments that contribute to sustainable development, improve food security and nutrition, and respect human rights while ensuring a return on investment for the entrepreneur.

Through this third phase of the project, which will last the whole year of 2023, a national strategy for responsible agricultural investment will be developed. The main objective is to provide a reference framework at the Tunisian level to strategically guide agricultural investments through concerted and harmonized public policies. This strategy will be achieved through the implementation of an advocacy and political commitment plan and an inclusive and participatory development process, carried by the three partner institutions (APIA, INRAT, FAO) as well as all institutions represented in PRIJA.

"Removing all constraints that could face the creation of jobs for young people in Tunisia: this is certainly the overall objective of these two projects signed today but especially one of the primary objectives of collaboration between the FAO and the Ministry," said Mr. Mahmoud Elyes Hamza, Minister of Agriculture in his speech emphasizing the importance of any initiation of the sector of employability and investment and capitalization on the achievements and results of the two previous phases for a better anchoring of new projects.

Youth-led projects for youth

"Putting young people at the heart of investment promotion strategies will give them future prospects but also help to curb the rural exodus and keep rural populations on their land, especially youth in predominantly rural and agricultural areas, "said Mr. Philippe Ankers FAO Representative in Tunisia.

It is in the spirit of this inclusive approach to youth and sustainability of food systems that FAO has planned to continue for this new phase its capacity building of coaches and mentors working in public or private incubators on responsible investment in agriculture and on strategies to enhance the value of projects led by young people.

In order to perpetuate the achievements of the two previous phases and facilitate the application and scaling up of the identified good practices, FAO will provide direct support to young people through the Agri-accelerator Hub through (i) the elaboration of opportunity books for high-potential sectors such as aromatic and medicinal plants (ii) a holistic support for 30 young project leaders selected in the governorate of Beja (BMC responsible, pitching, responsible agricultural investment, financing plan, participation in events organized for start-ups, etc.. ) and finally (ii) a capacity building of the beneficiaries of the Hub 2021 for the olive oil sector.

Finally, convinced of the importance of integrating the responsible agricultural investment approach into basic agronomic training modules, the two new projects have taken on the challenge of moving towards the Tunisian university benches by jointly proposing the development and implementation of a dedicated university curriculum.