ABT ASSOCIATES, INC.
Agricultural policy implementation project, APIP : final report
The Agricultural Policy Implementation Project (APIP) was designed and funded by USAID"s Special Mission for Economic and Technical Cooperation in Tunis to support the Government of Tunisia (GOT) in its goals for policy reform as set out in the Agricultural Structural Adjustment Program (ASAP) by: (1) providing Tunisian policy makers with a series of specific and timely studies of key policy issues that include data analysis and options for making rational economic and agricultural policy choices; and (2) reinforcing the capabilities of GOT personnel to identify and analyze policy constraints, formulate policy recommendations, and monitor the impacts of policy changes on the agricultural sector.
Rassas, Cheri · 1991
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Abstract
In addition to the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA), the Ministries of Plan and Economy, as well as other GOT agencies and private sector businesses, actively participated in and received TA and training under the project. The $5 million project began at the end of 1987. Abt Associates, Inc., was contracted to provided 235 person-months of TA over a 3.5 year period, while training, equipment procurement, and local contracting was managed by the MOA"s General Directorate for Development Planning and Agricultural Investments (DGPDIA). Abt"s subcontractors included the Institut Superieur de Gestion (ISG), the University of Tunis" management school, Ithaca International Ltd., and the University of Wisconsin. Several other subcontracts were initiated, especially among Tunisian firms, to respond to special technical needs of specific studies. Throughout the life of the project more than 25 TA assignments were accomplished collaboratively with Abt, its various subcontractors, the Government of Tunisia, Tunisian consultants, and public and private institutions. Major accomplishments in the area of agricultural policy reform include liberalization of cereals assembly, storage and marketing; liberalization of imports of powdered milk, beef, animal feed ingredients; private sector participation in the distribution of fertilizer and other inputs and in the export of olive oil; and reduction and/or elimination of subsidies on agricultural inputs, irrigation water, grain transportation, and a number of basic food items. Other outputs included analyses of the competitiveness of, and the development of export strategies for, Tunisian agricultural products such as wine, specialty fruits, dates, olive oil, cut flowers, and seafood. In the areas of training and capacity building, 25 Tunisian public and private sector staff attended various courses in the U.S.; numerous high-level officials participated in study tours in the U.S.; and a DGPDIA working group worked closely with the University of Wisconsin and the Tunisian National School of Agriculture (INAT) in developing models as tools to monitor the impact of policy reforms on farmers" behavior in the public and private sector. (Author abstract)
