Tunisia - Extension of the Cap Bon Citrus Fruit Protection Area

The project for the extension of the Cap Bon citrus fruit protection area meets a vital need of the farmers directly concerned, some of whom have had to abandon part of their farm as a result of insufficient water. The Project falls under the North Waters Master Plan (PDEN) launched by Tunisia since 1969 and constitutes a third tranche of the citrus fruit protection areas established on 7,400 ha to preserve the citrus- growing areas and solve the problem of over-tapping and deterioration of the water table through water supply from the Medjerda - Cap Bon canal. It concerns an area where the natural conditions are especially conducive to citrus tree farming and where, as a result, it constitutes both the traditional crop and the principal source of income of the rural population. The project falls within the scope of the Governement’s economic and social development plan which attaches priority to the promotion of agricultural exports since citrus fruits are among those products which have significant comparative advantages in this respect.