Subterranean waters, a source of dignity as well as a social resource: The case of farmers on the Saïss plain of Morocco

Quarouch, Hassan; Kuper, Marcel; Abdellaoui, El Hassane; Bouarfa, Sami

doi:10.1684/agr.2014.0699

Cited by 13 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…The provinces of Meknes and El Hajeb were chosen as a study site. This choice is justified, on the one hand, by the average annual decrease of the piezometric level of the groundwater estimated at 3 m (Faysse et al, 2012;Quarouch et al, 2014) explaining the huge water consumption. On the other hand, this choice is also based on the evolution of areas equipped with drip irrigation especially that many farmers have benefited from the subsidies to convert from surface to drip irrigation.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Transition From Surface to Drip Irrigation in Morocco: Analysis Through the Multi-Level Perspective

Assouli¹,

El-Bilali²,

Abouabdillah³

et al. 2019

AGR

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Agriculture uses more than 80% of water resources in Morocco. The sector isinefficient in terms of water use due to the dominance of surface irrigation. Toaddress this issue, there have been efforts in Moroccan strategies to convert surfaceirrigation to localized one. This paper analyses the dynamics of conversion fromsurface irrigation to drip irrigation in Fez-Meknes region (north-eastern Morocco)through the lens of the Multi-Level Perspective (MLP) on socio-technicaltransitions. MLP framework suggests that transitions are the results of dialecticinteractions among a niche (cf. novelty of drip irrigation), a regime (cf. traditionalsystem of surface irrigation) and the socio-technical landscape (e.g. policies). MLPwas complemented with a multi-capital approach to better assess transitionimpacts. Results show that the area equipped with drip irrigation in Fez-Meknesregion increased from 2174 ha in 2008 to 39290 ha in 2016. Different programshave been implemented in the framework of the Green Morocco Plan to fosterirrigation transition e.g. the National Irrigation Water Saving Program (PNEEI),launched in 2007, aims to convert 550,000 ha to localized irrigation (e.g. dripirrigation) in 15 years. Thanks to these programs, financial and technical supporthas been provided to farmers to promote the adoption of water-saving irrigationtechniques and practices. Farm-level results show that transition to localizedirrigation decreases irrigation water use, increases yields and profitability (cf. grossmargin per ha), and improves water productivity. Despite an enabling policylandscape and positive transition impacts, surface irrigation is still maintained inthe region and farmers are reluctant to change for many reasons (e.g. age andeducation level, unclear land tenure, financial and administrative difficulties).Efforts are still needed to train farmers on irrigation scheduling and on the use ofsmart irrigation techniques to save water. Further research is required to betterunderstand current bottlenecks in the irrigation transition process and designappropriate and context-specific transition governance strategies.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Transition From Surface to Drip Irrigation in Morocco: Analysis Through the Multi-Level Perspective

Assouli¹,

El-Bilali²,

Abouabdillah³

et al. 2019

AGR

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“…The climate 98 is semi-arid, with rainfall ranging from 207 to 677 mm per year, for an average of 500 mm/year 99 (data 1980-2010). After a series of dry years, the 1980s marked a drastic reduction of rain-fed 100 crops and the development of irrigated agriculture, mainly vegetables (Quarouch et al 2014). 101…”

Section: Study Area 96mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This increase in irrigated crops (e.g., potato, onions, peach orchards, vineyards), which are also 102 associated with a high use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers (Baccar et al 2018), has led to 103 the overexploitation of the aquifer (Quarouch et al 2014). In the process, the groundwater level 104 has dropped as much as 60 m at certain points (Agence de bassin hydraulique du Sebou, 2011).…”

Section: Study Area 96mentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing the resilience of farming systems on the Saïs plain, Morocco

et al. 2021

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Highlights-A participatory approach was used to study farm resilience after a shock -Shocks differed according to farm type, but were all related to water -Mental models were used with stakeholders to design future farming systems -Performance was assessed according to eight complementary indicators -According to stakeholders, all farm types would adapt, suggesting a good resilience ManuscriptClick here to view linked References

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“…The processes of groundwater access by farmers are mainly individual and they also may be collective. But whatever the individual of collective mode of access, the high economic cost and social value of this access, as a means of emancipation and source of dignity (Quarouch et al [12]) contribute to reinforce the informal privatization. On the one hand, farmers consider groundwater in (tube) wells as their own and basin agency has no legitimacy of intervention.…”

Section: Main Issue 2: Maintain or Built A Legitimacy Of Interventionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The social and political impact of the privatization of groundwater: conflict and cooperation around the aquifer of Saïss, Morocco

Fofack

2015

WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environment

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From the beginning of the 1980s, irrigated agriculture in the Saïss plain, located in the NorthEast of Morocco, has mostly been made through groundwater resources. The aquifer is at the centre of various stakes, one of the most important of which is related to the privatization of modes of access and use of water for irrigation. Indeed, the transition from irrigation through surface water to an irrigation based on groundwater has contributed to the appearance of new actors in the aquifer's area. This is even more accentuated as the transition to groundwater has modified rules for water access. From a community management point of view, they are now governed by a private and individualistic field: wells and tube-wells are personal, both regarding their process of construction and use. This rapid privatization generates conflicts for appropriation, use and control of resources between actors around such heterogeneous aquifer. Traditional, emergent and invisible actors, they all meet or avoid each other, either in a conflictual way or by developing cooperation. Who are these actors? What are their strategies and how do they deploy them in order to handle the access, use and control of groundwater? A case study led in three villages in the Saïss plain highlights the "sharing logics" of groundwater resources, in a context which is characterized by a growing scarcity of available resources. Our object is, first to analyse axes of conflict and cooperation and, secondly to show that these logics are multi-scale, multi-subject, and evolving.

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Subterranean waters, a source of dignity as well as a social resource: The case of farmers on the Saïss plain of Morocco

Cited by 13 publications

References 11 publications

Transition From Surface to Drip Irrigation in Morocco: Analysis Through the Multi-Level Perspective

Transition From Surface to Drip Irrigation in Morocco: Analysis Through the Multi-Level Perspective

Assessing the resilience of farming systems on the Saïs plain, Morocco

The social and political impact of the privatization of groundwater: conflict and cooperation around the aquifer of Saïss, Morocco

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