Climate change, imminent danger for water resources and agricultural production (Minister of Agriculturei)

Climate change represents an imminent danger for water resources and agricultural production in Tunisia, Minister of Agriculture, Water Resources and Fisheries Abdelmonem Belati pointed out on Wednesday. Speaking at the opening of a study day on the prize for the best female research for the year 2022-2023 on adaptation to climate change, Belati said that the challenges of a shortage of water resources and rising temperatures were becoming ever more important. He underlined that the 33% rate at which dams had been filled following the recent rains in the country does not solve the problem of water resources' shortage, notably with the 50% rise in temperatures last summer, which is causing the daily evaporation of 900,000 m3 of surface water in Tunisia. Belati underlined in this connection, the need to press ahead with efforts to ensure good management of water resources, which had fallen to 22% by March 2023. He also described last year's grain harvest as catastrophic, since it had not exceeded 0.3 millio n tonnes, whereas the annual average for grain production is between 1.2 and 1.5 million tonnes. "The Ministry of Agriculture encourages research aimed at boosting agricultural production and ensuring good management of water resources to combat climate change, and all the research laboratories under the Ministry's authority are available to researchers who want to work in this field," he said. Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse