On 1 March 2024, the revised guidelines for agricultural service cooperatives in Tunisia were ceremoniously presented in a workshop in Tunis to around 90 attendees from governmental supporting structures, the cooperatives themselves and further national and international (GIZ, IFAD, etc.) stakeholders. The presentation marked the successful conclusion of a joint activity with the Ministry of Agriculture, Hydraulic Resources and Fisheries (MARHP), in the context of a DGRV project. The brochure contains practical information for the establishment and the management of agricultural service cooperatives (in french: sociétés mutuelles de services agricoles, SMSA). It is a consolidation of existing guidelines, that were updated in a user-friendly way, enriched with examples from good co-operative practices and supplemented with relevant templates.
In her presentation Mrs Lamia Essaafi, representative of the MARHP, focused on the new features of the guide. She described the joint work with the DGRV as a success and the guide as an important element in the dissemination of a modern understanding of cooperatives.
There are currently around 400 agricultural service cooperatives in Tunisia with around 44,000 members in total – so the potential for growth is very high. The guidelines will help farmers to form new and viable SMSA. At the same time, it can support existing cooperatives in their professionalization and gradual integration into a cooperative ecosystem. This may increase the attractiveness of being a cooperative member and thus in return strengthen the resilience of the cooperatives even further.
A Project Story of the Month / DGRV Team Africa
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