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

Kuper, Marcel; Faysse, Nicolas; Hammani, Ali; Hartani, Tarik; Marlet, Serge; Hamamouche, Meriem Farah; Ameur, Fatah

doi:10.1007/978-3-319-23576-9_23

Cited by 42 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…In semi-arid contexts, sustainable water use has to be promoted, given the ongoing trend of groundwater depletion (Wada et al, 2012). In the case of Morocco, increased pressure on groundwater is already threatening the sustainability of many farming systems that depend on it (Kuper et al, 2015). The main objective of this study therefore consists of estimating the water footprint of cattle products (milk and live weight gain) in dual-purpose herds by considering the volumes of water used and their origins: rainfall, irrigation (whether from surface water or groundwater) and virtual water.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biophysical and economic water productivity of dual-purpose cattle farming

Sraïri

Benjelloun

Karrou³

et al. 2016

animal

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This study analyzes key factors influencing water productivity in cattle rearing, particularly in contexts characterized by water scarcity. This was done through year-round monitoring of on-farm practices within five smallholder farms located in the Saïss area (northern Morocco). The on-farm monitoring protocol consisted of characterizing: (i) volumes of water used for fodder production and distinguished by source (rainfall, surface irrigation and groundwater), (ii) virtual water contained in off-farm feed resources, (iii) total forage biomass production, (iv) dietary rations fed to lactating cows and their calves and (v) milk output and live weight gain. Findings reveal a mean water footprint of 1.62 ± 0.81 and 8.44 ± 1.09 m 3 /kg of milk and of live weight gain, respectively. Groundwater represented only 13.1% and 2.2% of the total water used to get milk and live weight gain, respectively, while rainfall represented 53.0% and 48.1% of the total water for milk and live weight gain, respectively. The remaining water volumes used came from surface irrigation water (7.4% for milk and 4.0% for live weight gain) and from virtual water (26.5% for milk and 44.7% for live weight gain). The results also revealed a relatively small gross margin per m 3 of water used by the herd, not exceeding an average value of US $ 0.05, when considering both milk and live weight. Given the large variability in farm performances, which affect water productivity in cattle rearing throughout the production process, we highlight the potential for introducing a series of interventions that are aimed at saving water, while concurrently improving efficiency in milk production and live weight gain. These interventions should target the chain of production functions that are implemented throughout the process of water productivity in cattle rearing. Moreover, these interventions are of particular importance given our findings that livestock production depends largely upon rainfall, rather than groundwater, in an area afflicted with sustained droughts, overexploitation of groundwater resources and growing water scarcity.Keywords: cattle, gross margin, live weight gain, milk, water productivity ImplicationsFew research results linking the livestock sector and its water use are available, at a time when a significant increase in animal production is expected to fulfill a rapidly growing demand. This study is based on the assumption that in regions with water scarcity, there is a need to consider improvements in water productivity in cattle farming operations. Our results suggest that more attention should be devoted to the origins of water (rainfall, rather than irrigation water from surface and groundwater, and virtual water in purchased feed) to implement sustainable livestock systems.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biophysical and economic water productivity of dual-purpose cattle farming

Sraïri

Benjelloun

Karrou³

et al. 2016

animal

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“…Though the risks of overexploitation of the deep aquifer are known, the stakeholders do not seem to be able to act effectively in a coordinated manner for sustainable management in the current context. Such situations are unfortunately rather common in North Africa (Kuper et al, ) and worldwide. Many studies have shown that resorting to groundwater is a common response of farmers to water scarcity (Tyagi et al, ; Molle et al, ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

How Farmers Deal with Water Scarcity in Community‐Managed Irrigation SYSTEMS: A Case Study in Northern Tunisia

Ferchichi

Marlet

Zaı̈ri

2017

Irrigation and Drainage

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Operating irrigation systems when water supplies are insecure is a critical challenge for both farmers and managers. The aim of this paper is to analyse how farmers adapt to water scarcity and to investigate to what extent individual farmers' practices affected the management of a community‐managed irrigation system in an area with perennial citrus orchards in northern Tunisia. Results revealed a wide range of farmers' strategies and practices aimed at maximizing their access to surface water and groundwater according to their ability. But this resulted in increasing inequity, because the biggest farmers managed to access groundwater or practised drip irrigation, while the vulnerability of small farmers increased. In this context the introduction of drip irrigation has not led to water saving. These findings should encourage the adoption of fair collective rules that account for water scarcity and farmers' diversity. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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“…According to Kuper et al (2016), groundwater supplies more than 500,000 farms in Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia and pumping wells irrigate continuously growing areas now estimated at more than 1.75 million ha. Such an economic development strategy largely relies on groundwater resources that have been prone to severe depletion since the start of their intensive exploitation nearly 40 years ago.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Considering groundwater use to improve the assessment of groundwater pumping for irrigation in North Africa

Massuel¹,

Amichi

Ameur

et al. 2017

Hydrogeol J

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Groundwater resources in semi-arid areas and especially in the Mediterranean face a growing demand for irrigated agriculture and, to a lesser extent, for domestic uses. Consequently, groundwater reserves are affected and water-table drops are widely observed. This leads to strong constraints on groundwater access for farmers, while managers worry about the future evolution of the water resources. A common problem for building proper groundwater management plans is the difficulty in assessing individual groundwater withdrawals at regional scale. Predicting future trends of these groundwater withdrawals is even more challenging. The basic question is how to assess the water budget variables and their evolution when they are deeply linked to human activities, themselves driven by countless factors (access to natural resources, public policies, market, etc.). This study provides some possible answers by focusing on the assessment of groundwater withdrawals for irrigated agriculture at three sites in North Africa (Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria). Efforts were made to understand the different features that influence irrigation practices, and an adaptive user-oriented methodology was used to monitor groundwater withdrawals. For each site, different key factors affecting the regional groundwater abstraction and its past evolution were identified by involving farmers' knowledge. Factors such as farmer access to land and groundwater or development of public infrastructures (electrical distribution network) are crucial to decode the results of well inventories and assess the regional groundwater abstraction and its future trend. This leads one to look with caution at the number of wells cited in the literature, which could be oversimplified. (Résumé d'auteur

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

Cited by 42 publications

References 44 publications

Biophysical and economic water productivity of dual-purpose cattle farming

Biophysical and economic water productivity of dual-purpose cattle farming

How Farmers Deal with Water Scarcity in Community‐Managed Irrigation SYSTEMS: A Case Study in Northern Tunisia

Considering groundwater use to improve the assessment of groundwater pumping for irrigation in North Africa

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