EXTENSION SERVICES IN TUNISIA

The Global Forum for Rural Advisory Services (GFRAS) says that after Tunisia became a French protectorate in 1881, the French “progressively took over administrative responsibilities for many sectors, including agriculture”. French settlers and commercial companies acquired substantial farmlands, including those that were under religious trust or tribal common ownership.

“Apart from the unrest among Tunisians caused by this policy, the production of olive groves and vineyards went up,” says the GFRAS. “In 1897, a livestock laboratory was established, followed by the Colonial School of Agriculture in 1898. In 1913, the Botanic Service of Tunisia was formed, and in 1924, an oceanographic station was set up at Salammbo.

“After gaining independence in 1924, Tunisia established several agricultural research institutes. There is, however, little information available on the subject of agricultural extension. Excessive government control on all aspects of the agriculture sector did not allow non-public and civil society institutions to flourish, nor could it fully exploit the potential of the sector.”

In the late 1980s, the GFRAS says, agriculture and agricultural extension began to receive more specific attention from policymakers. “In 1989, extension territorial cells were created at the regional level. Following a study done in 1987 and complemented by other successive studies, the Education, Research and Extension Directorate of the Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources [the ministry) was abolished in 1990, and was replaced by two separate national-level government institutions, namely the Agency for Agricultural Extension and Training, and the Institution of Agricultural Research and Higher Education. The implementation of a five-year national agricultural extension development project, co-financed by the World Bank, started in June 1991. The project introduced a few institutional reforms.

“In 1994, extension services were provided by certain institutions directly under the ministry, specialised autonomous agencies for commodities (such as vegetables, cereals, wine and olive oil), and semi-professional organisations covering vegetables, citrus and other fruits, dates, poultry products and grape vine. Over 90% of the extension services, however, were provided by the ministry, which had about 650 extension units spread across Tunisia, but with a high concentration in the northern region.

“Several donors, notably the World Bank, provided financial and technical assistance to Tunisia to strengthen agriculture in general and extension and research in particular. Four main projects, namely the Agricultural Research and Extension Project (1990–1997), the Agricultural Sector Investment Project (1993–2000), the Northwest Mountainous Areas Development Project (1993–2001) and the National Rural Finance Project (1995–2001), were financed by the World Bank, and all of them had direct or indirect influences on the development of agricultural extension in the country.

“The objective of the Agricultural Research and Extension Project was to improve the institutional framework of these services, mainly by creating coordinating agencies for research and extension, strengthening regional facilities, and improving links between research and extension. Other donors that have provided financial and/or technical assistance to Tunisia include the EU, the African Development Bank, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the UN Development Program, the International Labour Organization, the International Fund for Agricultural Development, [and the] German Society for International Cooperation […]”