Announcement of Tunisia Broadens Agricultural Reforms on June 2, 1989

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE World Bank 1818 H Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20433, U.S.A.* Telephone: (202) 477-1234 BANK NEWS RELEASE NO. 89/84 Contact: Fawzi Rihane (202) 473-2675 TUNISIA BROADENS AGRICULTURAL REFORMS WASHINGTON, June 2, 1989 -- Tunisia will implement the second phase of its seven-year agricultural reform program with the help of an $84 million World Bank loan. In 1986, Tunisia launched the program to maintain agricultural growth at a time of dwindling government resources. The program is aimed at boosting farm production and reducing the need for government support. The second phase of the program includes short- and medium-term measures such as reforming agricultural pricing and marketing, increasing the role of the private sector in agricultural production, and strengthening agricultural support services. Other measures in the second phase of the program will improve management of natural resources and increase the capacity of key agricultural institutions to plan and implement policies designed to speed up growth of the sector. The World Bank loan will partially finance goods needed to promote agricultural growth, including animal feed and farm machinery. It will also finance part of the government's investment program for agriculture. The loan will be disbursed in two equal installments, the first soon after the loan agreement is signed, and the second after a review of progress in implementing agricultural reforms. The World Bank loan is for 17 years, including five years of grace, with a variable interest rate, currently 7.65 percent, linked to the cost of the Bank's borrowings. It also carries an annual commitment charge of 0.75 percent on the undisbursed balance. Note: Money figures are in U.S. dollar equivalents.