Late May I accompanied a mission of the African Development Bank (AfDB) to the Southern Tunisia. The purpose of the Mission was the evaluation of a 9 year “Integrated Agricultural Development Project” in the Governorate Gabès to increase the agricultural production and revenues of local farmers, while managing natural resources in a sustainable and equitable manner. The Bank financed about 50% (US$ 18 Million) of the total project as in form of a loan. The AfDB Regional Department North Africa 1 and the AfDB External Relations and Communication Unit produced a Project Brief about this mission with the title: Impacting North Africa, Highlighting the Impact of AfDB Operations in Africa, with my pictures. Take a look!
From our base in Tunis you can reach the town of Gabès either by an about 6 hours long drive or through the air. The domestic flight from Tunis to Gabès operates only twice a week and did not fit into our schedule. Therefore we used one the daily flights to the island of Djerba and were transferred to Gabès by car. The first day was mainly characterized by meetings with officials of the project in various offices in Gabès and a brief meeting in the afternoon with the Govenor of Gabès. The next two days we visited several of the project sites to see ourselves how the AfDB loan was able to support the local farmers and crafts women. We visited several farmers who benefited from the project on their fields growing melons and vegetables or in greenhouses growing tomatoes and peppers. Some goat and sheep herders in the region were also able to buy new life stock as part of the project. We saw kilometres of new roads, new wind and water erosion protections and met women who started their own weaving business producing fine carpets which were then certified by the authorities and later sold on regional or national markets. From the beneficiaries we learned valuable points for the evaluation and a possible future continuation of the project.
The hospitality of the locals was great. They offered us everywhere local specialities (couscous, melons, cheese,…). I have never had so much couscous in two days! Already after the first couple of itinerary points we were running late as we stopped at extra locations and did not expect all the food and refreshments we were offered. This resulted unfortunately in that we missed our flight from Djerba back to Tunis on the last day. I enjoyed very much travelling together with Karen, Sofien and Rafaa. Thanks guys for an unforgettable experience!
But now to the pictures (click on them to see larger versions):
After a long day of talks with officials we drove back to our hotel through the oasis of Gabès and stopped next to some farmer for a small talk.
This Agricultural Service Company in Matmata Nouvelle provides prospective farmers with the necessary parts , seeds, fertilizer and irrigation material.
This farm profited from the “Integrated Agricultural Development Project of Gabès”, co-financed by the AfDB, through the financing of the installation of an irrigation system on the entire perimeter. This allows more controlled and productive growth of water and honey melons.
This is a research farm which tries to improve the agriculture and live stock farming in arid regions.
These berber families in a village near Beni Zelten are producing fine certified traditional carpets, which they sell to regional traders. The husbands are farmers.
In the neighbouring building the family run their own olive oil press.
This centre traines local women in weaving traditional carpets. It also provides technical assistance and quality control as well as promotion and commercialization of the finished products. After passing an exam these ladies can start their own business in their homes. So far more than 500 women have been trained. The centre is part of the “Integrated Agricultural Development Project of Gabès”, co-financed by the AfDB.
This farmer was attracted by the project and returned to the region. He has just started growing grapes with the geothermal water irrigation.
This herder benefited from the life stock project, part of the “Integrated Agricultural Development Project of Gabès”, co-financed by the AfDB. He was able to buy new goats and is now selling the milk on the local market.
Ms. Fathia TARHOUNI, a carpet weaver from Tounine-Dkhilet Toujan, won in 2006 the presidential prize for the second best Mergoum. The Mergoum is a form of ground tapestry and are specific to a whole area of Eastern Sahara, extending from Southern Tunisia to the North of Chad. In Tunisia, the production of Mergoums is subjected to the Quality label of ONAT (Office National de l’Artisanat Tunisien). She received training and personal support, which were financed by the “Integrated Agricultural Development Project of Gabès”, co-financed by the AfDB. The full story can be read in the AfDB Project Brief.
Toujane is a Berber mountain village in southern Tunisia, near Medenine, divided into two parts by a valley.
The mayor of Matmata, Mr. Zaabi RAFIK, showed us an interesting way of collecting and storing water in the vicinity of the city. The water is collected by large concrete areas leading the water down hill into large underground water tanks. The stored water is enough to irrigate the fields in the valley.
