Tunis: Agricultural investments in the private sector fell 55% to TND59,766 million at the end of March 2024 compared to the same period last year (TND 134, 041 million), figures released Friday by the National Observatory of Agriculture show. Approved investments include TND 24.61 million in own funding ( 41. 17% of overall investments), TND 14.22 million in loans (23.78%) , TND 20.95 million in grants (34.3% of total investments). All sources of funding trended downwards in the period between Q1 of 2023 and Q1 of 2024. Own funding and loans dropped 60% and 45%, respectively, while grants dipped 52.3%. The number of investment operations plunged 28% to 1,348 at the end of March from 1,882 during the same period in 2023. The geograghic breakdown of investments demonstrates central western regions have the lion's share (31%), followed by the northwest and the southeast (22%), the central eastern regions (12%) and the southwest (7%). Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse