Integrating “invisible” farmers in a regional debate on water productivity: The case of informal water and land markets in the Algerian Mitidja plain

Abstract

In the irrigated scheme of West Mitidja, access to land and water is ensured through countless local informal arrangements. The assignees of small collective farms have subdivided the land informally, and rent out part of it to lessees, thereby circumventing current legislation. The surface irrigation system provides only a small proportion of irrigation water to farmers, who rely mainly on groundwater for irrigation. The results of our analyses show that the agricultural dynamics of this perimeter are to a large extent ensured by ''invisible'' farmers cultivating land obtained through informal land markets and using groundwater via ''illicit'' tubewells. These farmers are also important vectors for innovation (new irrigated cropping systems, drip irrigation). We organized a series of workshops with farmers (assignees and lessees) and government agencies to explore agricultural development and water management perspectives in the area. Our work showed that it is land and water markets that should be formalized rather than land or water property so that lessees will be considered as actors for water management and agricultural development in the area.

Liberation or Anarchy? The Janus Nature of Groundwater Use on North Africa’s New Irrigation Frontiers

“…Many actors of the groundwater economy are "invisible", since they crop and irrigate the land under informal contracts as lessees or tenants, while equally informal intermediaries provide inputs, credit, and sell their agricultural products (Daoudi and Wampfler 2010). In the Mitidja plain (Algeria), for instance, Imache et al (2010) estimated that 23 % of the volume of irrigation was used to irrigate horticultural crops grown by lessees whose presence is not officially acknowledged, through informal water transactions. Even when farmers declare their tube-well, they tend to make their declaration conform to current legislation, and not to field realities.…”

Le rôle du faire-valoir indirect dans le renouvellement générationnel des agriculteurs irrigants en Tunisie

“…Les réformes agraires, en Algérie et au Maroc, prévoient ainsi que la transmission des droits fonciers octroyés par l'État ne bénéficie qu'à un seul successeur, afin d'éviter le morcellement. Malgré cela, plusieurs travaux récents font état de l'échec des dispositifs administratifs visant à éviter le morcellement (Dugué et al, 2014 ;Imache et al, 2010). Ils montrent l'existence de très forts processus d'individualisation foncière, aussi bien sur les terres privées que sur les terres collectives ou étatiques.…”

Groundwater-based agriculture in arid land : the case of Azraq Basin, Jordan

“…The level and type of government encouragement varies from country to country. In Algeria, groundwater-based agricultural development is encouraged through bank loans for farmers and fund irrigation improvement and tractors (Imache et al, 2010). In Egypt, groundwaterbased agriculture has been developed through land reclamation projects with the objective of reclaiming desert land to expand the total area of arable land and settle populations (Allan, 2001;Adriansen, 2009;Dixon, 2017).…”

“…Groundwater basins in the north are renewable while in the south they are largely fossil non-renewable aquifers (some exceptions can be found in western oases and at the southern foot of the Atlas Mountain). Most groundwater basins both in the north and the south are overexploited or being mined, with annual drops in water table by 1 m or more (Imache et al, 2010).…”

“…Groundwater-based agriculture in arid parts of the MENA region has developed and expanded in 1960s-1970s in parallel with technical change in irrigation and well-drilling techniques, but also due to state subsidies supporting this activity (Imache et al, 2010;Aw-Hassan et al, 2014;UNDP, 2013b). In all MENA countries, groundwater has allowed the expansion of irrigation in arid/desert areas, where no rain fed agriculture is possible (Stack, 2009;Adriansen, 2009;Ben Hounet et al, 2011;Manseur, 2017).…”