OSS and AFD Sign Funding Agreement to Capitalize on Agroecological Knowledge for Climate Adaptation in the Mediterranean South

Tunis, October 13 – The Observatory of the Sahara and the Sahel (OSS) and the French Development Agency (AFD) signed a funding agreement on Tuesday, October 13, to implement a project dedicated to capitalizing on agroecological knowledge and local practices. The initiative aims to support the adaptation of rural territories in the southern Mediterranean region to climate change.

Project Overview and Partners

With a total budget of €150,000, the project is co-financed by the OSS, France (through the AFD), and the European Union. The signing ceremony took place at the OSS headquarters in Tunis, attended by:

Nabil Ben Khatra, Executive Secretary of the OSS
H.E. Anne Guéguen, Ambassador of France to Tunisia
Christophe Cottet, Director of the AFD in Tunisia

This signature underscores the shared commitment of France, via the AFD, and the European Union to stand alongside the OSS in addressing critical regional challenges.

Addressing Concrete Challenges in Rural Areas

For France and the European Union, supporting climate adaptation means first and foremost engaging with those who face its impacts daily. Implemented by the OSS under the AdaptAction–ACAMED program (co-financed by the AFD and the EU), the project addresses a concrete need for rural areas in the southern Mediterranean: better leveraging locally developed knowledge and practices to cope with:

Water scarcity
Droughts
Soil degradation
The fragility of agricultural systems

While this knowledge exists, it often remains scattered, insufficiently documented, or underutilized in public policy. The project aims to structure this knowledge, analyze its scope, and make it more directly actionable for public decision-making.

Key Focus Areas

The project will focus on several key areas of agroecological knowledge, including:

Water and soil management
Seeds and agrobiodiversity
Oasis systems
Useful plants
Practices for transforming and conserving local products

Additionally, the project will analyze Mediterranean experiences to identify the conditions necessary for the most relevant solutions to be recognized, adapted to other contexts, or scaled up. Special attention will be paid to how this knowledge is held and transmitted, particularly highlighting the role of women in:

Water management
Seed preservation
Product transformation
Knowledge transmission

Expected Outcomes and Deliverables

The goal is to achieve a more comprehensive understanding of territorial realities and integrate these insights into adaptation policy recommendations. This approach will result in:

An analytical corpus on agroecological knowledge.
A comparative assessment of Mediterranean experiences.
A regional roundtable bringing together researchers, policymakers, technical and financial partners, civil society organizations, practitioners, and territorial representatives.

Strengthening Regional and International Cooperation

Through this joint commitment, France and the European Union reaffirm their support for their African and Mediterranean partners in facing a challenge that affects both shores of the Mediterranean. The lessons learned from the project will be shared with all OSS member countries.

The project will contribute to:

Better integrating agroecological knowledge and local practices into adaptation strategies for the southern Mediterranean (Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Jordan, Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco).
Identifying conditions for scaling up proven solutions.
Promoting initiatives that have demonstrated their contribution to territorial adaptation in international forums, such as the COP conferences and the World Water Forum.