Tunis — As part of the implementation of the 2009-2014 Presidential Program which focused in its 20th item on "agricultural sector adjusting to climate changes and meeting current challenges", Tunisia has set up a number of strategies so as to develop the sector.

Tunisia's strategies aims at expanding irrigated areas, developing the methods and means of exploitation and increasing the production with a view to increase the value of Tunisia's agricultural production to 50% and to reach the exploitation of irrigated areas by 100% compared to 90% currently.

Irrigated areas, which consume 80% of water resources, cover an area of approximately 405, 000 hectares accounting for 8% of the planted area (220, 000 hectares in public areas and 185 000 in private areas).

Irrigated framing contributes to 37% of the country's agricultural production, 10% of exports and provides 27% of jobs. The production sector provides 90% of national needs of vegetables and 75% of local market needs in fruits.

Following a cabinet meeting held recently by President Ben Ali to related to irrigated farming in the next five-year Presidential Program, measures were taken to entrust the Agricultural Property Agency with looking at the situation of all private irrigated areas, to set up a water-saving agency, to encourage valorization of water resources by investing in high-added-value crops, to devise a strategy to help farmers perfect marketing of their products in the various regions and to develop and generalize water meters in all public irrigated zones.