Agricultural investments approved by the Agricultural Investment Promotion Agency (APIA) in the first eleven months of 2023 decreased by 29.5%, amounting to TND 383.5 million, compared to the same period in 2022, according to the statistical bulletin released by the agency on Wednesday.
Compared to the 2016-2020 development plan, the approved private agricultural investments showed a 21% decrease. These investments are expected to create 2,543 permanent jobs, down from 3,153 in the corresponding period in 2022.
The allocated investments are as follows TND 244.5 million for agriculture, TND 60.3 million for agricultural services, TND 44.4 million for fisheries, TND 31.3 million for primary processing and TND 3 million for aquaculture.
Seven investment operations with foreign participation were approved, totaling TND 12.5 million, compared with three operations totaling TND 4.6 million in the same period in 2002. Investments for youth have reached TND 42.1 million, compared to TND 55.8 million in 2022. Investments for women were approved at TND 28.3 million, up from TND 25.9 million in 2022.
Approved investments received a total of TND 112.9 million in subsidies, representing 29.4% of the approved investment volume. Subsidies for the purchase of agricultural equipment amounted to TND 45.3 million, or 40.1% of the total approved subsidies. The loan-to-value ratio has fallen to 20.4%.
APIA also reported an increase in approved investments in photovoltaic equipment, which reached TND 10.2 million with subsidies of TND 5 million. Investments in organic farming have reached TND 9.1 million with subsidies of TND 3 million.
Approved investments in olive tree planting components amounted to TND 6.4 million, with subsidies of TND 3 million. Water conservation components have attracted investments of TND 11.5 million, with subsidies of TND 5.5 million.
The Benefit Allocation Committees have approved 37 land loans totaling TND 5.4 million. These loans are expected to bring 341 hectares of land into the economic cycle.
In the first eleven months of 2023, reported private agricultural investments reached TND 1,211.3 million, a decrease of 0.6% compared to 2022. Compared to the 2016-2020 development plan, reported investments decreased by 2.4%.
Reported investments in the primary processing sector have increased from TND 70.8 million to TND 131.4 million. Online reported investments amounted to TND 603 million, representing 50% of the total reported volume.
