GROUPEMENT DE DEVELOPPEMENT AGRICOLE DES ÉLEVEURS DE BREBIS DU NORD : GDAEBN (SHEEP BREEDERS DEVELOPEMENT GROUP)

Even if agriculture no longer represents a major share of GDP, it remains the main economic activity in rural areas and a factor of stability. Until the events of 2011, agricultural policy was strongly regulated by the State. From now on, the government is seeking to promote participatory decision-making methods. Agriculture is directly concerned by this review of national policies, and by the State’s willingness to promote ownership of the sector by civil society, farmers and their organizations.

In the breeding sector, Tunisian livestock consists mainly of sheep and goats, with 8 million head. Two breeding models coexist in the country: «modern» livestock farming for economic purposes, and «traditional» livestock farming. Even though sheep breeding has experienced strong growth, the coexistence of these two systems and the lack of structure in the downstream sectors limit the quality and value of the products.

The agricultural development group of sheep breeders from the North – GDAEBN – has the ambition to be the main stakeholder of sheep breeding in this territory, and to ensure a professional sheep breeding.

GDAEBN’s services and activities in order to improve the breeders’ production and better value it
• Organization of mechanical shearing workshops
• Development of herd management advice based on the use of the sheep farming information and management system
• Genetic improvement through the implementation of selection schemes
• Improvement of fodder and herd feeding systems

Strengthening and supporting the GDAEBN
• Development and management of its services
• Strategic thinking, in terms of positioning in the meat sector, representativeness, delegation of public service, change of scale, partnership management, training of the next generation, etc.