The African Development Bank (AfDB) has granted Tunisia two loans totaling € 38.626 million to finance the project for the valorization of irrigated perimeters and the development of agricultural value chains in Tunisia.
The project, which targets 14 delegations in the county’s center-west (Kairouan, Kasserine and Sidi Bouzid), provides for the valorization and rehabilitation of 9 thousand hectares of irrigated perimeters in the targeted rural areas, the development of 32 km of rural tracks, the development of agricultural value chains, strengthening agricultural productivity and the valorization and marketing of products.
Speaking to reporters after the signing ceremony held Thursday on the sidelines of the Tunisia Investment Forum, Mohamed Azizi, AfDB Regional Director, North Africa, recalled that this project
“will help to reduce regional disparities in Tunisia and improve the living conditions of rural populations in the most disadvantaged areas of west-central Tunisia”.
He added that the project will directly benefit more than 3,500 households, or 20 thousand people, 50% of them women and will create nearly 4600 permanent jobs.
The AfDB’s project portfolio in Tunisia currently has 43 operations, totaling €1.6 billion. The financial sector represents 33% of the portfolio, transport (27%), water and sanitation (17%), the social sector (12%) and energy (9%).
