The ACSAD’s Director-General/field visits in the Republic of Tunisia
During the current visit to the Republic of Tunisia of the Director-general of the Arab Centre for the Studies of Arid Zones ACSAD, H.E Dr Naser Edin Obeid; as well as the implementation of the conventions that have been signed between the Tunisian Ministry of Agriculture, Water Resources, and Fishing and the Office of Livestock and Providing Pasture, H.E Dr Obeid conducted a fieldwork tour to the development compound “Sidi Omer” in Aryana state, accompanied with the Director-General of the Office, Mr Ezdien Shalghaf. Dr Obeid briefed the Compound’s works represented by investing in the Arid and degraded lands and transforming them into a vital ecological area suited for production and cultivation hand in hand with the local community, especially the various implanted flowers and the forest seedlings. In addition to the experiments that are being implemented to purify wastewater in order to use it in irrigating garden implantation, fish breeding, and preserving the environment in both plants and animals.
Dr Obeid listened to an elaborated explanation from Dr Al-Tayeb bin Milad the Head of the Compound, about the different components of the ecological garden project implemented by the Compound and its challenges and phases. He praised the accomplished achievements and expressed the ACSAD organisation’s willingness to cooperate and share the experiences in the fields above.
Enhancing the cooperation and implementing the convention signed with the Office of Livestock and Providing Pasture, the ACSAD’s Director-General, Naser Edin Obeid, visited “Swaff” village in the agriculture area in Zaghwan state, which is dedicated to investing arid lands, growing and improving livestock of goats and sheep, and being adopted as joint research and scientific station between ACSAD and the Tunisian Ministry of Agriculture. He also listened to a detailed explanation of the agricultural and technical actions have been in the area; he briefed the areas implanted with Barley, olive, cactus pear, and fodder bushes such as Acacia, Carob, Atriplex Halimus, and Thistle, in addition to the equipment and supply to make intensive fodder and bars from agricultural waste including the machine made by ACSAD’s experts and presented to the Ministry of Agriculture, Water Resources, and Fishing.
Within the constant cooperation with the management of breeds improvement at “Bsidi Thabet”, which is followed the Office of Livestock and Providing Pasture, the ACSAD’s Director-General briefed the scientific programs to improve the breeds of cows, sheep, and goats, the methodology of numbering animals, recording data in the national database, issuing reports for the benefit of animal breeders under the national plan of the Republic of Tunisia, which can make use of it as an applicable model in the Arab Countries, in addition to the cooperation programs with the ACSAD organization to construct two centers for the artificial insemination at “Bsidi Thabet, Al-kreen” in Al-Kirwan.
Furthermore, Dr Obeid visited the National Institution of Horse breeding at “Bsidi Thabet”, and from the Director-General, Dr Abdulhak Bin Younes, he received a brief presentation on the Institution’s history, and its various activities, internal and external programs in the breeding of the Arabian, Barberian, and English horses, and how they are being represented and participated at local and outer levels, as well as the services provided by the institution to the horse breeders in the fields of caring, organizing, artificial insemination by frozen sperm straws.
Dr Obeid praised the efforts exerted by the Ministry of Agriculture, Water Resources, and Fishing in developing and growing the agricultural sector, both (plants and animals) in the Republic of Tunisia, confirming the ACSAD’s readiness to cooperate and participate in various areas to benefit from the Tunisian experiences to achieve the joint goals in Arabian sustainable agriculture development.
