AG-Scan Tunisia
3 – 4 April 2019
About the workshop
The Tunisian Ministry of Agriculture, Hydraulic Resources and Fisheries (MARHP), through the General Directorate of Investment and Professional Organizations Financing (DGFIOP), held a workshop in collaboration with the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) to self-assess institutional capacities for results-based management and monitoring of SDGs in the rural sector (AG-Scan), on April 3 and 4 in Tunis.
The workshop, facilitated by HELVETAS as part of AVANTI’s operations, aimed at strengthening government capacities to measure progress against the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and priority objectives of the Tunisian government in the agricultural sector. The workshop provided a space for participatory discussion and self-assessment of government capacities to manage for results in the rural sector, which set the basis for the development of an action plan for improving areas such as monitoring, evaluation, reporting and learning (currently under preparation by a task force composed by a government working group facilitated by a national consultant).
A total of 36 participants participated in this high-level self-assessment exercise, from different ministries such as the Ministry of Agriculture, Hydraulic Resources and Fisheries (with stakeholders from 15 different departments); Ministry of Development, Investments and International Cooperation; Ministry of Finance; Ministry of Local Affairs and Environment; National Bureau of Statistics etc. The workshop was opened by Mr. Abderraouf Laajimi, General Director of DGFIOP, who welcomed such an exercise in Tunisia and recognised its potential benefits at country level. The workshop evaluation by participants was very positive.
Participants’ comments
Here is a selection of participant comments from their AG-Scan workshop experience:
“ This self-assessment exercise of the Tunisian agricultural sector’s capacities is a very valid tool to analyze if our national sector capacities are sufficient to reach our vision of a national agricultural sector leading the growth of the country”
Mr. Abderraouf Laajimi, General Director of DGFIOP.
“ The AG-Scan methodology goes out of the ordinary being participatory and bringing government officers from different units together. The identification of areas of intervention in the final action plan is a very useful practical output for countries”
Ms. Rihab Ouerghemmi, Deputy Director of Budget Management by Objectives Unit, Ministry of Agriculture.
“The AVANTI workshop got off to a good start with a good mixed technical team and a new skills assessment approach, and the expected results make it easier to track the SDGs nationally and make informed decision-making based on evidence “
Mr. Zine El Abidine Ghoudi, IFAD Focal Point in Tunisia.
“This exercise allows for meaningful exchanges between technicians and experts working in different units and ministries”
Ms. Lamia Jemmali, Director of External Financing Projects, DGFIOP.
Overall, participants found the heterogeneity of people invited to the workshop very positive for a broader exchange and were pleasantly surprised at the level of engagement of all staff from different departments and ministries. Expectations are high that the AG-Scan workshop will lead to the identification of key areas of improvement for better results-based management.
Among the objectives and expected results of AVANTI in Tunisia are:
- Higher levels of awareness and knowledgeabout the SDGs in the agricultural sector and the relationship with the sector planning instruments;
- Coordination and articulationspaces with other public entities on the monitoring and evaluation system for the SDGs and its links with the country’s development planning;
- Priority actionswithin the sector itself and in cooperation with other partners to advance results-based management under the five LEAPS pillars: leadership, evaluation & monitoring, accountability, planning & budgeting, and statistics;
- Visibility of the sector’s commitment to achieving the SDGsthat also allows other actors with the capacity to invest in development to be easily integrated.
Photos
