FAO, the National Agricultural Research Institute of Tunisia (INRAT), and the Agricultural Investment Promotion Agency (APIA) propose five key recommendations to empower young agri-entrepreneurs to invest in Tunisian agriculture and food systems. These recommendations have been developed through an inclusive process that engaged youth, government agencies, the private sector, and civil society, with technical support from the Bern University of Applied Sciences and financial support from Switzerland.

Youth unemployment rates in Tunisia are unsustainably high, especially among university graduates, despite considerable efforts to support their integration into the labor market. The country’s predominantly rural and agricultural “interior” regions are lagging the furthest behind in terms of economic development. The promotion of investment by young people in high-potential agricultural sectors could make a significant contribution to supporting sustainable and inclusive economic growth in these regions. Substantial concerted efforts are needed to stimulate investments that will create dynamic agricultural and agribusiness sectors and to offer entrepreneurial and employment opportunities to the youth.

In order to tackle these challenges, FAO, INRAT’s Rural Economy Laboratory (LER), and APIA have established a strategic partnership which aimed to achieve (i) an analysis to identify opportunities for the youth and impediments of youth entrepreneurship; (ii) a roadmap to empower young agri-entrepreneurs to invest; and (iii) the development and pilot-deployment of concrete solutions.

The analysis carried out by LER has resulted in the identification of value chains with high development potential in regions that are particularly hard hit by youth unemployment. The report "Dynamique de l'investissement dans le système agricole tunisien et perspectives de développement des investissements par et pour les jeunes" summarizes the main findings of this analysis. At the same time, an analysis of the main impediments of youth entrepreneurship was carried out together with the youth in the context of a multi-stakeholder workshop.

Subsequently, FAO, INRAT, and APIA have developed a roadmap together with the youth to empower young agri-entrepreneurs to invest. This roadmap contains five key recommendations:

1. Develop financial mechanisms, services, and incentives for young agri-entrepreneurs. This includes the creation of financial incentives targeting young agri-entrepreneurs; support to the development of youth-specific financial products and services; encouragement of participatory financial mechanisms such as crowdfunding.
2. Strengthen extension, training, and coaching services. In particular, it is essential to develop new approaches towards extension services; create integrated research-training-extension systems; and increase the attractiveness of producer organizations.
3. Enhance communication and access to information. This includes the utilization of ICTs to tackle the challenges the youth are facing; the optimization of access to information by setting up a one-stop information shop for young investors; and the organization of youth-focused information campaigns on existing investment incentives.
4. Strengthen coordination between different actors and interventions by encouraging young agri-entrepreneurs to organize themselves, and by increasing coordination between value chain actors.
5. Increase the competitiveness and attractiveness of value chains, including through a more inclusive and equitable revenue-sharing system; a focus on territorial quality rent and traceability; and the improvement of the visibility of the value chain thanks to certification and labeling schemes.

A policy brief (in French) recently published by FAO and INRAT outlines each of these five recommendations and explains in detail how specific actions could empower young agri-entrepreneurs to invest in Tunisian agriculture and food systems.

It is now essential to move from the formulation of recommendations to their implementation. FAO, INRAT, and APIA will therefore pursue their collaboration in a second phase that aims to propose innovative and pilot-tested measures to policy makers. To this effect, INRAT will set up a multi-stakeholder think-tank. APIA and FAO will pilot-deploy recommendations developed by the think-tank with a group of selected young agri-entrepreneurs.

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