The Tunisian Union of Agriculture and Fisheries (French: UTAP) will hold its 17th ordinary congress under the theme “Food Sovereignty amid Climate Change.” The event is slated to be held on May 8-11 in Tabarka, Jendouba. “This congress will be held at a time when Tunisia is experiencing water scarcity which took its toll on the grain season and amid difficulties facing the various segments of the sector,” Vice-President Anis Kharbech told TAP on Wednesday. This meeting will also be convened as the sector is going through successive changes, particularly in relation to increasing production costs and the repercussions of the Russia-Ukraine conflict on the prices of farm inputs, he further said. An April 29 Central Council meeting adopted motions in relation to the congress. Conventioneers will first elect the president of the congress then look at the financial and moral reports and approve motions, Kharbech added. They will then elect 115 members of the new Central Council (100 farmers, 5 fishermen, 5 women farmers), he further said. The new elected members will elect the new president of the organisation and the members of the new executive bureau (23 members). The new executive bureau will have to address several challenges that the sector will be facing in the coming years, particularly in relation to climate change. It is set to advocate a new national agricultural strategy which takes into account the impact of these changes. The new agricultural strategy will focus on the rationalised use of water by relying on non-conventional resources (desalination of sea water, earthless agriculture techniques), the official said. Over the next few years, UTAP will seek to review the agricultural map, remedy the situation of production sectors (red and white meats, eggs, milk, etc.), increase the income of farmers and rehabilitate distribution channels for a better control of final prices of agricultural produce. Kharbech said farmers are waiting for exceptional measures to salvage “the catastrophic agricultural season” on National Day of Agriculture observed on May 12. UTAP figures show about 560,000 farmers and fishermen are operating in Tunisia.
Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse