Tunis — President Kais Saied stressed, during a meeting held on Monday, at Carthage Palace with Prime Minister Sarra Zaafrani Zenzri and Minister of Agriculture, Water Resources and Fisheries Ezzeddine Ben Cheikh, the need to remove all obstacles facing small farmers in particular, especially with regard to olive pressing, storage and marketing, through the concerted efforts of all concerned parties.

The Head of State recommended introducing new measures, establishing concessional financing lines, seeking new markets and setting a reference price that fully safeguards farmers' rights, after a record olive harvest.

He underlined the need for all stakeholders, in both the public and private sectors, to work toward fulfilling the aspirations of the Tunisian people, adding that there is no room for farmers to abandon olive harvesting, as this is a national wealth. Every citizen must work not only to preserve it but also to further develop it, like all other national resources, he said.

The meeting also addressed the situation of several state boards established in the early 1960s whose role has declined, notably the Olive Oil Board, whose storage capacity was estimated at 350,000 tonnes in 1962 but gradually fell to no more than 90,000 tonnes in 2025. The President of the Republic called for urgent action to enable the board to fulfill the role for which it was created.

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In addition, the Head of State instructed that efforts be made to ensure the availability of local seeds and fertilisers across all regions of the country.

He reaffirmed Tunisia's ability to fully ensure its food security, which is an integral part of national security, stressing that Tunisia's security, resilience, dignity and the continuity of its institutions are above all other considerations.