TİKA Provides Fig Saplings to Tunisian Farmers

Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA) provided 6,000 fig saplings, a tractor for irrigation and transportation, and agricultural equipment for 150 families engaged in farming in the rural areas of Medenine in southern Tunisia.

The project implemented by TİKA and El Baraka Farmers’ Association of Tunisia in the rural areas of Medenine aims to encourage 150 families engaged in farming in Beni Khedache to grow figs.

Mabrouka Saidi, Mayor of Beni Khedache, who supported the project, said, “We aim to pave the way for agricultural investments through agricultural support projects. We always face difficulties when launching a new project. We aim to overcome these difficulties with the support we provide for our farmers. Such projects encourage local people to engage in farming. We hope to support the development of our town by expanding this project, which started with 6,000 saplings provided to 150 families.”

“We have implemented dozens of agricultural projects in Tunisia.”

Ali Fuat Cebeci, TİKA’s Coordinator in Tunisia, made a statement about their agricultural projects in Tunisia. Cebeci said, “As part of this project, we provided 6,000 fig saplings to 150 farming families. As you may know, the southern parts of Tunisia are currently facing water scarcity. We aim to solve this problem by providing tractors and water tanks.” Cebeci noted that they have implemented many projects in numerous fields in Tunisia. He said, “We have implemented dozens of agricultural projects and support programs. A large fraction of Tunisia’s population depends on agriculture for its livelihood. In addition, there are serious problems with access to food and agricultural products around the world, which indicates that the agricultural sector will continue to play a vital role for people. Therefore, Türkiye and TİKA will continue to support the people of Tunisia, which is a friendly and sister country.”

“We aim to increase fig production in the region.”

Habib Moussa, President of El Baraka Farmers’ Association, stressed the importance of the saplings provided to families for agricultural development in the region. Moussa said, “The goal of our association is to identify and solve agricultural problems in the region. The purpose of this project is to revive and increase local fig production. We would like to thank the institutions that supported the project, including TİKA from Türkiye. The beneficiaries of the project are 150 families engaged in farming in several villages in the town of Beni Khedache. We had been working on this project for a long time. We are happy to launch it by planting the first trees today.” TİKA has been active in Tunisia since 2012. In addition to its technical and developmental cooperation projects, the Agency develops agricultural projects to support farmers in the country.