TUNIS: The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) will extend a loan and grant of US$ 11.4 million and a loan of $ 16.1 million from the Spanish Food Security Co-Financing Facility Trust Fund to the Republic of Tunisia, to finance the second phase of the Agropastoral Development and Local Initiatives Promotion Programme in the South-East.
The programme will aim to improve agricultural productivity and stimulate job creation for rural youth and women.
Poverty and unemployment still present a challenge in Tunisia where the agriculture sector makes up 8 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product and provides employment to 18.3 per cent of the national labour force.
The programme is co-financed by the government of Tunisia and the projects’ beneficiaries. It will intensify investment in infrastructure focusing on natural resource management and irrigation to improve agricultural productivity.
In addition, the programme will promote local economic initiatives by providing assistance and resources in the form of access to microcredit, knowledge and training opportunities. The overall aim is to improve the income of, and create jobs for, rural women and men. (QNA)
