ira mednine

What ira mednine does

Institut des Régions Arides (IRA) de Médenine is a Tunisian public research institute created by Law No. 76-6 of January 7, 1976, operating under the supervision of the Ministry of Agriculture, Water Resources and Fisheries. Its mandate is to conduct scientific research supporting agricultural development, natural resource conservation, and desertification control in Tunisia's arid and desert regions, serving farmers, pastoralists, rural communities, and the broader Tunisian agricultural policy apparatus.

The institute delivers this mandate through five specialized laboratories: LELCD (Eremology and Desertification Control), LACO (Aridoculture and Oasis Crops), LEP (Pastoral Ecosystems and Valorization of Spontaneous Plants and Associated Micro-organisms), LESOR (Rural Economics and Societies), and LEFS (Livestock and Wildlife). Research outputs are disseminated via the peer-reviewed Revue des Régions Arides journal (ISSN 0330-7956, published in French, English, and Arabic), master's and postdoctoral training programs, and international scientific conferences. IRA maintains strategic partnerships with ICARDA, FAO, the European Union, IRESA, and multiple Tunisian universities (Gabès, Tunis El Manar, Manouba, UCAR, and the Virtual University of Tunis).

IRA is not a commercial entity: it has no priced products, no APIs, and no disclosed revenue model beyond public budgetary allocations from its supervising ministry. Headcount stands at approximately 44 statutory agents, researchers, engineers, technicians, and administrative staff, organized across a Médenine headquarters and regional directorates in southern Tunisia. The institution is currently marking its 50th anniversary in 2026.

Name

ira mednine

Legal name

Institut des Régions Arides

Website

https://ira.agrinet.tn

Company type

Private

Founded year

1976

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Institut des Régions Arides (IRA) de Médenine is a Tunisian public research institute under the Ministry of Agriculture, founded in 1976 to combat desertification and advance sustainable agriculture in arid regions. It operates five specialized laboratories and serves Tunisian farmers, pastoralists, and policymakers through scientific research, training, and the Revue des Régions Arides journal.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Agricultural Research Services

NAICS

Scientific Research and Development Services (5417), Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (541720)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Monitoring, Evaluation, Research & Learning (MERL) (BPADAEAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Economic Research, Statistics & Policy Advisory (BPADAMAJ)

Keywords

• Arid region research
• Desertification control
• Oasis agriculture
• Dryland farming research
• Pastoral ecosystems

Headquarters

HQ city

Médenine

HQ country

Tunisia

HQ region

Africa

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Government Public Funding: As a public research institution under the Ministry of Agriculture, Resources Hydraulics and Fisheries of Tunisia, IRA operates primarily through government budgetary allocations and public research grants.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Institut des Régions Arides (IRA) de Médenine is a Tunisian public research institute created under Law No. 76-6 of January 7, 1976, operating under the Ministry of Agriculture, Water Resources and Fisheries. It conducts scientific research to support agricultural development, protect natural resources, and combat desertification in arid and desert regions of Tunisia. The institute operates five specialized laboratories (LELCD, LACO, LEP, LESOR, LEFS) and publishes the Revue des Régions Arides academic journal.

Product overview

Institut des Régions Arides (IRA) de Médenine is a Tunisian research institute created by law n° 76-6 of January 7, 1976, under the Ministry of Agriculture, Water Resources and Fisheries. The institute conducts research for agricultural sector development, natural resource protection, and desertification combating in arid and desert regions. It operates through five specialized laboratories (LELCD, LACO, LEP, LEFS, LESOR) and publishes the Revue des Régions Arides academic journal (ISSN: 0330-7956). No commercial products or technology services are offered - this is a public research institution focused on scientific research and academic publications.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Laboratoire d'Erémologie et Lutte Contre la Désertification (LELCD) Research laboratory focused on eremology (study of deserts) and combating desertification in arid regions, serving the agricultural and environmental research community.
• Laboratoire d'Aridoculture et Cultures Oasiennes (LACO) Research laboratory specializing in aridoculture (dryland farming) and oasis crop cultivation techniques for agricultural development in arid regions.
• Laboratoire des écosystèmes pastoraux et valorisation des plantes spontanées et des micro-organismes associés (LEP) Pastoral ecosystem laboratory focusing on spontaneous plant valorization and associated microorganisms, serving researchers studying rangeland ecosystems.
• Laboratoire d'Economie et Sociétés Rurales (LESOR) Laboratory for rural economics and societies research addressing socio-economic aspects of arid region development.
• Laboratoire d'Elevage et Faune Sauvage (LEFS) Laboratory for livestock and wildlife research, serving researchers and agricultural stakeholders in arid region pastoral and wildlife management.
• Formation et Programmes de Recherche (Training and Research Programs) Master's programs and postdoctoral research contracts for training researchers in arid region sciences, serving students and early-career researchers.
• Revue des Régions Arides (ISSN: 0330-7956)

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• University of Gabès (Univ Gabes)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partnership for research collaboration in arid region agricultural development.
• European Union (UE)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEU funding and research collaboration for arid region sustainable development projects.
• Ministry of Agriculture of TunisiacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrimary supervising ministry providing institutional support and strategic direction.
• MESRS (Ministère de l'Enseignement Supérieur et de la Recherche Scientifique)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMinistry overseeing higher education and scientific research in Tunisia.
• IRESA (Institution de la Recherche et de l'Enseignement Supérieur Agricole)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAgricultural research and higher education coordination institution under the Ministry of Agriculture.
• ICARDA (International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational agricultural research center specializing in dry area agriculture and desertification combat.
• FASRC (Fédération des Agences du Sud et du Rif Central)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional federation for development agencies in southern Tunisia.
• FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUN agency for food security and sustainable agriculture providing technical support and collaboration.
• CDRA (Centre de Documentation et de Recherche sur l'Aride)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDocumentation and research center for arid regions.
• USS/RNU (Université Virtuelle de Tunis)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerVirtual University of Tunis for digital education and research collaboration.
• University of Tunis El Manar (UTM)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMajor Tunisian university for academic research partnerships.
• University of Manouba (Univ Mannouba)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity of Manouba for research collaboration.
• UCAR (Université Catholique de l'Afrique Rurale)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCatholic University for Rural Africa engaged in regional research partnerships.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves1 record

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• ICARDA (International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas): CGIAR-affiliated global center focused on agricultural research in dry areas. IRA's work on aridoculture, oasis systems, and pastoral ecosystems is directly comparable, and ICARDA is already a documented partner of IRA.
• ACSAD (Arab Center for the Studies of Arid Zones and Dry Lands): League of Arab States center for arid-zone research and desertification combat. Highly comparable mandate to IRA across the MENA region, with overlapping focus on oasis ecosystems and dryland agriculture.
• INRA Tunisia (Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique de Tunisie): Tunisia's national agricultural research institute under the same Ministry of Agriculture. Operates overlapping applied agricultural research mandate at national level and shares IRESA coordination with IRA.
• ICBA (International Center for Biosaline Agriculture): UAE-based international center focused on agriculture in saline and arid environments. Comparable mission in dryland/saline agriculture, water-scarce farming systems, and climate adaptation research.
• Ben-Gurion University – Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research: Israeli desert research institutes (Sde Boker) covering desert ecology, dryland agriculture, and solar energy. Highly comparable arid-zone applied research mandate in the same Mediterranean/North Africa context.

Broad incumbents

• CIRAD (Centre de coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement): French public research institution working on agricultural and rural development in tropical and Mediterranean regions. Comparable applied agricultural research and rural-economics mission, but at much broader geographic and disciplinary scale.
• Desert Research Institute (DRI): U.S.-based nonprofit research institute focused on arid and semi-arid environments. Comparable desertification, water resources, and ecosystems research mandate, but operates globally and at larger scale.
• INRAE (Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'Alimentation et l'Environnement): French national public research institute with extensive agricultural and environmental science programs. Comparable government-backed agricultural R&D model, though at vastly larger scale and broader scope.
• FAO Research and Extension Division: UN agency coordinating global food security and sustainable agriculture research. Already a documented IRA partner, and operates comparable research-to-policy translation function at global scale.

Others

• IRESA (Institution de la Recherche et de l'Enseignement Supérieur Agricole): Tunisian umbrella institution coordinating agricultural research and higher education under the Ministry of Agriculture. Acts as parent/coordinator for IRA and direct national peers such as INRA Tunisia.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ira-mednine

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about ira mednine