Tunisia ministry identifies phosphorus rich soil to reduce fertilizer costs

The Tunisian Ministry of Agriculture identified that 60% of analyzed farmland already contains sufficient phosphorus reserves.

Rafeâ Atia, the director of soil resources at the ministry, reported these findings following a national soil sampling program. The program covered 20,000 hectares across 17 governorates in Tunisia. Officials collected 3,800 soil samples to determine the actual nutrient requirements of different plots. The results showed that many farmers currently apply intensive fertilization despite their land already having enough phosphorus.

This practice leads to unnecessary expenses for farmers and creates waste without improving crop yields. To address this, the ministry created a digital platform to link soil analysis results with specific farm coordinates and sizes. Farmers can access technical recommendations through a mobile application to see the exact amount of fertilizer their specific plot needs. The ministry plans to turn this into an annual operation and expand the digital system to all regional agricultural development offices.