Tunis — In order to combat the adverse effect of the shortage of rainfall on agriculture, Tunisia has taken various steps to protect the country's agricultural projects and especially large scale farming projects. During a cabinet meeting held on Wednesday, President Ben Ali took several measures destined to ensure the expansion of irrigated areas throughout the country.

Within this framework, all the administrative and technical parties involved in the system of irrigation and water resources management in Tunisia, gathered during a working session, held in Tunis on Thursday. The meeting was chaired by Mr. Abdessalem Mansour the Minister of Agriculture, Water Resources and Fishing.

The meeting was dedicated to developing plans for implementing the decisions of the latest cabinet meeting, including the setting up of a water conservation agency.

The objective is to valorize and optimize the country's water resources and expand irrigation to the total system of the agricultural production as well as enhancing the competitiveness of the sector to ensure its sustainability.