Tunis/Tunisia — Some 17 young Tunisians have benefited from the programme to support responsible investment in agriculture and food systems whose objective is to develop responsible agricultural investments and strengthen the role of young people in this sector in Tunisia.
Launched by the Laboratory of Rural Economy of the National Institute of Agronomic Research of Tunisia, the Agency for the Promotion of Agricultural Investments (APIA), in collaboration with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in 2019, the programme has funded ten projects to the tune of 8 thousand dinars each.
Speaking at a conference of this program held Wednesday in Tunis, Director of business creation support at the Agency for the Promotion of Industry and Innovation (APIA) Monia Ben Romdhane said these projects were selected because they met a number of criteria including employability and social and environmental impact.
Emna Ouertani, academic and researcher at the Laboratory of Rural Economy said the objective of this programme is to ensure an institutional and financial environment conducive to investment of young people in the agricultural sector. The programme has targeted the region of Beja and the sectors of livestock and olive oil, he pointed out.
She also stressed the need to initiate reforms of the laws relating to investment and access of young people to finance.
Yannick Fiedler, programme officer at FAO said this program can provide concrete answers to young people wishing to invest in the agricultural sector, indicating that it could be generalized to other regions.
Source: All Africas