The key role of supply chain actors in groundwater irrigation development in North Africa

Abstract

The role played by supply chain actors in the rapid development of groundwater-based irrigated agriculture is analyzed. Agricultural groundwater use has increased tremendously in the past 50 years, leading to the decline of water tables. Groundwater use has enabled intensification of existing farming systems and ensured economic growth. This “groundwater economy” has been growing rapidly due to the initiative of farmers and the involvement of a wide range of supply chain actors, including suppliers of equipment, inputs retailers, and distributors of irrigated agricultural products. In North Africa, the actors in irrigated production chains often operate at the margin of public policies and are usually described as “informal”, “unstructured”, and as participating in “groundwater anarchy”. This paper underlines the crucial role of supply chain actors in the development of groundwater irrigation, a role largely ignored by public policies and rarely studied. The analysis is based on three case studies in Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria, and focuses on the horticultural sub-sector, in particular on onions and tomatoes, which are irrigated high value crops. The study demonstrates that although supply chain actors are catalyzers of the expansion of groundwater irrigation, they could also become actors in adaptation to the declining water tables. Through their informal activities, they help reduce market risks, facilitate credit and access to subsidies, and disseminate innovation. The interest associated with making these actors visible to agricultural institutions is discussed, along with methods of getting them involved in the management of the resource on which they depend. (Résumé d'auteur

Spatio-Temporal Variation Characteristics of North Africa’s Climate Potential Productivity

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“…Due to the dry and hot climate, there is little precipitation throughout the year, making it difficult to form rivers and lakes, and therefore, water sources are strained. Because of this, the problem of water sources has become a bottleneck for the economic development of the North African region, especially for agricultural production [32][33][34][35][36][37].…”

Enabling institutional environments conducive to livelihood improvement and adapted investments in sustainable land and water uses

“…Groundwater started to gain prominence through the action and investments of individual agents, leading Molle et al (2003, p. 2) to qualify it as a "silent revolution;" it was only recognized as an important resource by states much later. Access to land and water often involves informal arrangements framed within locally-agreed rules, arrangements and regulations (Shah, 2009;López-Gunn, Rica and van Cauwenbergh, 2012;Kuper et al, 2016;Lejars, Daoudi and Amichi, 2017). Informal networks around groundwater extraction extend well beyond the frontiers of the aquifer and actors operate in a context where access by farmers, not only to production factors (land, water, inputs) but also to markets, can be highly informal.…”

Human mobility and environmental degradation: Shaping rural Morocco

“…In Morocco, climate change will negatively impact economic growth, particularly in rural areas, due to its adverse impacts on water availability, affecting agricultural production and yields (Van Praag, 2021; World Bank, 2022). The projected duplication of the frequency and duration of meteorological drought overall in the Northern Africa region (IPCC, 2022) together with the rapid change in the irrigation practices in Morocco (Lejars et al., 2017), among other factors, lead to unsustainable use of water resources.…”