The Mashrou3i project initiative to set up an olive oil platform in Beja ended on Saturday, September 7 in Toukaber in the Ben Ismail family reserve, bringing together nearly 30 actors from the olive oil sector (farmers, oil mill operators, SMSAs, bank and support structure representatives) to present the results of the collaboration initiated last February.
This action is part of the activities of the Mashrou3i Programme to support farmers in the region, highlighting the need to bring together the stakeholders concerned to promote the value chain for olive oil.
The Mashrou3i programme is a public-private partnership between the Tunisian government, USAID, the Italian Cooperation and HP Foundation, implemented in the country’s 14 inland regions by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO). It aims to promote entrepreneurship and encourage the creation and development of businesses among young people.
Despite considerable progress in terms of production, experience and research and the many achievements abroad, the “Chétoui” variety specific to the region, highly awarded worldwide, cannot be affirmed today for export. Its success depends on a reorganisation of the sector and the active involvement of all the actors and stakeholders in the chain through the implementation of the “Olive Oil Platform in Beja”.
Thanks to the initiative launched by the Mashrou3i programme, the olive oil platform in Beja now brings together several players in the olive oil value chain: Nurseries, SMSA, GDA, oil mills, packaging companies, service companies, exporters… Together and with the help of support organizations such as UTICA, CRDA, ODESYPANO, they have developed a common strategic vision to be achieved in the next five years: “to make Béjà’s “Chétoui” olive oil a health food par excellence and a lever for the region’s development.
Gathered in Toukaber for the closing ceremony of the platform’s implementation, the participants voiced satisfaction with the work already accomplished. According to them, the way is thus clear to work together to promote the region’s olive products, to achieve very good quality, better competitiveness and the “Chétoui” label of excellence and thus conquer international markets.
“The success of these objectives requires a strong networking policy. The members of the platform must remain united, and privilege relationships of trust and mutual respect to consolidating all future actions of the platform as they go forward, ” Mehdi Klai, leader of the Olive Oil Cluster in the North-West placed emphasis.
TunisianMonitorOnline
