Hamadi El Habib, Secretary of State to the Minister of Agriculture, Hydraulic Resources and Fisheries, responsible for water resources, has announced that the ministry is developing a program with the World Bank to irrigate 20,000 hectares using treated wastewater. This project is carried out in coordination with the Ministry of the Environment, in order to strengthen food security.
During a training workshop organized recently at the African Center for the Advancement of Journalists and Communicators, under the theme “Water safety in Tunisia: challenges and solutions”, Hamadi El Habib presented a global strategy of the ministry in terms of management and securing water resources in Tunisia. He also mentioned a cooperation program with the Italian part aimed at irrigating 11,500 hectares of state land, still in coordination with the Ministry of the Environment.
The government official recalled that Tunisia has 127 treatment plants that produce around 292 million cubic meters of treated waters, including 61 stations reuse these waters for the irrigation of fruit trees, large crops, fodder crops, but also for the watering of green spaces and golf courses.
He said, in the same context, that 14 million cubic meters of treated water are currently operated in the agricultural sector, and that an extension program for summer fodder crops using these waters is underway, in collaboration with the administrations concerned and the governorates.
Finally, Hamadi El Habib stressed that the ministry endeavors to ensure optimal water management, aimed at a balance between supply and demand, while reviewing the legal and legislative framework of the sector, starting with the revision of the Water Code and monitoring of conventional water mobilization programs.
