Projects carried out by the UN International Fund for Agricultural Development have improved living conditions and eased poverty for tens of thousands of households in rural areas of Tunisia, according to a new report presented in Tunis on Tuesday, IFAD said in a statement.
The six projects worth 248 million euros were implemented between 2003 to 2018 and involve substantial investments and "remarkable" results in natural resources management and socio-economic infrastructure, said the report prepared by IFAD's Independent Office of Evaluation.
IFAD contributed 105 million euros of financing to the projects, the agency said.
"IFAD and Tunisia have been working together for almost 40 years" said Khalida Bouzar, IFAD’s Regional Director for Near-East, North Africa, Central Asia and Europe.
"IFAD has shown its comparative advantage in targeting vulnerable farmers and in creating rural employment. Long-term presence and close monitoring have improved sustainability and impact of our projects.”
The projects have helped rural 50,000 households in Tunisia to take part in planning and managing "socio-economic and productive investments," IFAD stated.
"The report notes that the IFAD-funded programme has achieved "remarkable" environmental and natural resources management results," IFAD said. Partnerships between Tunisia's agriculture ministry, research institutions and local organisations had found "context-specific solutions", IFAD added.
The projects carried out by IFAD have helped combat land degradation on 35,600 hectares; and developed irrigation infrastructure on 3,600 hectares of farm lands, the agency noted.
And some 167,800 hectares of rangelands were recovered thanks to deferred grazing in agreement with land and livestock owners, boosting agricultural productivity and diversification as incomes in rural areas,
The report however highlighted several vulnerable groups that needed to be at the centre of IFAD's future strategy for cooperation with the Tunisian government. The groups include poor farmers, women and young people, where "the social and environmental sustainability of some investments remains uncertain," said the agency.
"How can IFAD, based on its global experience, help the government to develop more effective and innovative approaches to tackle persistent pockets of rural poverty and create decent employment opportunities for rural women and youth?" said Fabrizio Felloni, IOE Deputy-Director.
"The country strategy and programme evaluation raise an important question for IFAD's future interventions in Tunisia," Felloni said.
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