ONAGRI : agriculture largest water consumer in Tunisia

In Tunisia, agriculture is the largest water consumer (about 80% of total water use)," the National Observatory of Agriculture (French: ONAGRI) said. Its water use efficiency is though lower compared to other sectors of activity, hence the need for a rational management of irrigation and a better use of resources by means of opting for less water-consuming and value-added crops. There is need to provide statistics and analytical data to ensure a sustainable management of water resources, further reads a recent analytical note which assesses indicators in relation to water use efficiency and water stress in the governorates of Zaghouan, Nabeul, Mahdia and Kébili. The analaysis of water use per sector in the four governorates shows agriculture has the lion's share with different rates, though: 97.6 % for Kébili, 89.6% for Nabeul, 76.4% for Zaghouan and 53% for Mahdia. The sector of services took the second spot (44% for Mahdia), followed by industry (5.5 % for Zaghouan). Increasing water productivity in agr iculture (crop yield per cubic metre of water consumption) is of paramount importance in improving water use efficiency. Reducing water leakages in irrigation networks is a sine qua non conditon for increasing water use efficiency. The water stress indicator, ONAGRI added, posted an upward trend for all these governorates. Global Water stress reached 18.6% in 2019 against 18.4% in 2006. In Tunisia, it stood at 109.6% in 2020 against 73% in 2006. Kébili posted the acutest water stress (228%), two times the national rate in 2020. This is due to an over -exploitation of groundwater and illegal drilling. In Zaghouan, water stress stood at 94.7% in 2020, slightly up on 2018 (93.7%) and significantly down compared to the national average in 2020 (109.6%) and 2018 (96%). Water stress in Mahdia rose 2% to 121.4% in 2020 (in comparison with 2018). The rate was 156.3% for Nabeul in 2020, well above the national average. Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse