The international debate on participatory management and irrigation management transfer has mainly focused on ex-ante/ex-post evaluations that rely on quantitative performance indicators to measure the failure or success of management transfer and the functioning of water users' associations (WUAs). This article focuses on the appropriation by farmers of state-initiated WUAs illustrated by the case of the Moyen Sebou irrigation scheme in Morocco. This scheme, which was designed for agency-managed water distribution, was implemented at the height of the debate on participatory management in the early 1990s, and was transformed into a farmer-managed irrigation scheme. The results revealed the gradual adoption of the water institutions (WUAs and the federations of WUAs) by farmers, who continuously crafted and adapted rules for the management of water distribution, collection of water fees, and governance of the irrigation scheme. In addition, there were a number of indirect spinoffs generated by the collective learning process in terms of leadership, collective action, local democracy and local development.
In this paper we present a situated analysis of the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on the life of small-scale farmers and agricultural laborers in India, Algeria, and Morocco. We draw on data collected through phone interviews since April 2020. Inspired by feminist scholars, we analyze our findings thinking with—and entangling—the concepts of intersectionality, resilience and care. We firstly document the material impacts of the lockdown measures, focusing particularly on the experiences of single women farmers and laborers, whose livelihood and well-being have been notably compromised. Secondly, we unfold how different agricultural actors have come up with inventive ways to respond to the unexpected situation which they are facing. In doing so, we highlight the importance of considering the multiple and entangled socionatural challenges, uncertainties, and marginalizations that different agricultural actors experience, as well as the transformative potential of their inventive practices, which are often motivated and informed by notions of care.
À partir de la mi-mars 2020, les gouvernements algérien et marocain ont instauré un confinement pour lutter contre la propagation de la pandémie de Covid-19. Cela s’est traduit par la fermeture des marchés locaux et des restrictions de mobilité. Le traitement médiatique et scientifique de l’impact de la pandémie a porté principalement sur les zones urbaines, laissant de côté les expériences des ruraux alors même que les mesures restrictives sont arrivées en pleine campagne agricole. Cet article vise à combler partiellement cette lacune en analysant comment les petits agriculteurs, femmes et hommes des oasis et des extensions oasiennes, les jeunes producteurs et les ouvriers de deux régions oasiennes du Maghreb, ont vécu ces nouveaux défis. Pour ce faire, nous nous appuyons sur 150 entretiens téléphoniques menés avec des acteurs ruraux dans les vallées du Drâa (Maroc) et du M’zab (Algérie). En mettant leurs expériences au cœur de notre analyse, nous montrons comment la crise sanitaire a limité la capacité de la majorité des petits agriculteurs à écouler leur production agricole, et comment elle a mis à l’épreuve la pluriactivité des familles oasiennes, les rendant ainsi plus vulnérables. Puis, nous décrivons comment ces acteurs ont développé différentes pratiques de résilience, individuelles et collectives, comme la mise en place d’un marché du travail virtuel pour remplacer les traditionnels moquefs (places de recrutement des ouvriers), la transition vers des pratiques agroécologiques, la réinvention de la solidarité et de l’action collective.
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