On Friday, the Tunisian authorities approved a set of restrictions on the use of drinking water , including the adoption of a quota system to distribute it to the population for several months, following a drought in the country.

The Minister of Agriculture issued a decision to limit the use of potable water for agricultural purposes, to irrigate green spaces, to clean streets and public places, and to wash cars.

A quota system will also be adopted to distribute water to the population until next September.

The ministry justified its decision by "frequent years of drought and poor revenues from dams, which negatively affected its water reserves, which reached an unprecedented level."

Tunisia is facing a severe drought crisis with declining rainfall, and the rate of filling of dams did not exceed 31%, and some of them are less than 15%, in a country whose economy depends mainly on agriculture.

These decisions coincide with the advent of the month of Ramadan, and residents in different areas of the Tunisian capital spoke of water cuts at night when the rate of consumption increased.

Agricultural unions began sounding the alarm for the agricultural season, especially with regard to the grain sector.

The Tunisian Union of Agriculture and Fisheries said in a statement that thousands of hectares were affected by the lack of rain and the low level of dams, in addition to the damage to fruit trees, vegetables and others.

Union spokesman Anis Kharbash said in media statements that the grain season "will be disastrous and the harvest season will be non-existent" this year, and that Tunisia will produce only "2 million quintals" of grain. And this number is not enough even for the seeds of the next season.
Experts attribute the main cause of drought and the frequency of climatic disasters such as floods and hurricanes, which are expected to increase, to the exacerbation of climate warming.