Competence Centre to strengthen the dairy sector in Tunisia

Since April 2021, AFC supports the creation and implementation of a Dairy Competence Centre in Tunisia. The competence centre is the result of a partnership between the public and private sectors with the support of the German Cooperation Agency (GIZ).

Milk is one of the oldest foods in the world and has always been at the heart of Tunisians’ dietary habits. In Tunisia, the sector has made remarkable progress, going from a production limited to self-consumption on the farm in the 1960s to one of the few African countries having achieved self-sufficiency in milk and milk products in the 2000s. The progress is the fruit of a common will of stakeholders including the state, which has developed an integrated strategy to promote the entire dairy sector. This strategy is characterised by a continuous increase in production, strengthening of the collection network and the development of the dairy industry.

Tunisia has about 112,200 dairy farms, mostly small breeders with less than five cows. The dairy sector contributes 11% of the value of total agricultural production, 25% of the value of animal production and 7% of the value of the food industry. Dairy production accounts for more than 30% of total agricultural employment. It is therefore a sector with a strong knock-on effect and is considered to be a driving force for the intensification of agriculture and the development of the agro-food sector.

However, the sector suffers from a series of structural difficulties and periodic crises – sometimes shortages, sometimes surpluses – that have a negative impact on the profitability of the sector and on market supply. One of the major problems is the lack of knowledge due to inadequate or non-available vocational training and the dynamic demand on the dairy labour market. The development of the dairy sector in Tunisia has created a pressing need, from upstream to downstream, for skills, upgrading and new emerging professions for which training is not available in Tunisia (e.g. cheese technician, quality manager, analysis laboratory manager, milking and cold equipment technician, milk collection driver etc.).

The project will improve the knowledge of various stakeholders in the dairy sector (farmers, collectors and industrialists) through a range of specific training courses with a focus on improving the quality and safety of milk and dairy products, while respecting the specificities of the companies and the future roles of the trainees, in addition to existing courses.

In the governorate of Beja in the North-Eastern region, the competence centre for the dairy sector, is located at the secondary agricultural vocational school for animal husbandry in Thibar-Beja belonging to the Agricultural Extension and Training Agency (AFVA). The competence centre is being supported by AFC to improve the trainings.

The concept of the training courses is based on an interactive and adult

Technician in cold equipment and milk pasteurisation Milking Equipment Technician Cheese maker Level I Cheese maker Level II Milk driver Milk analysis laboratory technician Qualitician (milk quality manager) Milk collection centre manager Hoof trimming and dehorning of cattle

The proposed curricula are:

education approach that respects gender equality. It foresees the mobilisation of master trainers for all activities, from the architecture of the modules to the practical training sessions.

The activities in 2021 comprise the design of the methodology and content of the training courses, the preparation of training materials, the training of master trainers on the andragogic approach, the creation of curricula and setting up the web page of the Dairy Competence Centre in Thibar (https://www.mediaschool.tn/centrethibar/index.html).

The first trainings in the nine proposed curricula will start in April 2022. Until the end of November 2022, AFC will organise training courses for the development of professions and the reinforcement of the skills necessary for professional activities in the dairy sector in Tunisia.

Wael Louhichi Project Manager

wael.louhichi@afci.de For further information, please contact:

Michael Handlos Team Leader michael.handlos@afci.de

Imed Werghi National Coordinator imed.werghi@afci.de