In this three-part series, BCtA speaks to the entrepreneurs providing innovative development solutions to Medenine’s water problems as part of UNDP-BCtA’s inclusive innovation programme. The Inclusive Innovation Journey seeks to advance business solutions for development challenges and connect them to local government bodies that need innovative, tech-driven solutions to reach underserved populations. From a dozen proposals, the solutions presented here employ unique and specialized approaches that hail from diverse industries.

More than a dozen farmers invest in fruit-bearing trees and vegetable crops each year in Medenine.

However, according to Nadia Korchid, an agri-food engineer and manager of an agricultural analysis laboratory, a regional agricultural study suggests that more than half of these investments do not yield enough produce to render the business profitable.

Korchid explains that the problem is two factored: the non-suitability of crops in the farmlands’ pedoclimatic composition, and the poor management of these farmlands. In her years of working for the laboratory, she has seen how farmers have suffered from increased temperature, a prolonged dry season, and eventually, water deficit due to lack of rainfall. In southern Tunisia, particularly in Medenine, groundwater is mostly salty and chlorinated. With rainfall lacking as an effect of climate change, the water deficit has become a major and constant stressor for most farmlands.

Korchid noticed that most of the agricultural investments in the area did not take into consideration scientific studies such as soil and water analyses, management of irrigation systems, and testing of crops during the planning stage. As a consequence, farmers end up cultivating crops that are not suitable to the kind of soil or irrigation system that they own, nor to the area’s climate. At the same time, it is not a surprise that biochemical processes are not considered when investing in agricultural livelihoods. No agricultural analysis laboratory in Medenine exists and in the past decade there has only been one agricultural study firm with research on the socio-economic aspect of agriculture rather than its technical aspects, says the agri-food engineer.

‘Science-based solutions to ensure profitability in agriculture’

Korchid, alongside her team, and in cooperation with a new generation of agricultural engineers, proposed using biochemical and bacteriological analysis of soil and water on the farmland as a baseline solution. From the initial analyses, the laboratory can then suggest the most suitable type of irrigation system for a farmer. This way, a farmer is advised on the correct way to irrigate so as not to dissipate large quantities without yield. Factoring in the results of these initial analyses and taking into consideration the climatic conditions on the farmland, the type of crop is selected next. An analysis of wastewater is the third process, whereby wastewater is treated and used as alternative irrigation, especially in times when rainfall is scarce.

For Korchid, this kind of solution is viable. Farmers nowadays are more and more convinced that science is needed to ensure profitability of their agricultural projects. She has seen increased discussion about integrating chemical science with agriculture, which is helpful in raising awareness among agricultural actors. She hopes for better partnership with local public actors in encouraging and pushing for more of these kinds of solutions amid the agricultural challenges being faced in Medenine.

Korchid believes that through her company’s proposed solution, farming is now on its way to welcoming non-conventional methods to plan and test agricultural projects before implementation. She sees an established approach using biochemical analysis to enable farmlands to maximize water usage, letting them withstand climate change and its other effects in the long term.

Using a microbiological approach to create impact on local farmers

Moreover, given the inclusive business aspect of Korchid’s work, the solution creates positive impact for small holder farmers and within the agri-food sector in Tunisia’s arid regions. Korchid states that smallholder farmers themselves will be positively and directly impacted by analyzing the soil, water, and climate before choosing the variety of crops that will thrive in the environment. Through this, the farmers will be able to prevent spoilage of crops. For example she has had clients with farmlands on the seaside where the soil suffers from high salinity due to saltwater presence. In this case, Korchid’s solution presents a viable option for agricultural investors to pick whether they prefer to push for an agricultural project, or to opt for a fishing project.

She acknowledges that this impact is an offshoot of the Inclusive innovation Journey (IIJ). She was at first very much focused on working on the laboratory, until she joined the program, where she realized that apart from her laboratory work, she is in the middle of a groundbreaking solution to a crisis in Tunisia using a microbiological approach. Korchid hopes to be able to obtain the state’s support and collaborate with it to make her approach one that is scaleable and can be replicated in other parts of Tunisia.

Click on the links below to read solutions from other entrepreneurs participating in the programme:

The networking approach: Digitally connecting farmers to experts and peers in the region

The high-tech approach: Optimizing water consumption through sensor mechanisms