Existing Solutions

Water savings, value chains, irrigated systems, vocational training, Maghreb, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, drip irrigation, agricultural water users’ associations, farmers’ organisations.

technical

Capacity building, institutional

The pilot project RIM – Network of Farmers in Mediterranean irrigated systems – enables to carry out vocational training in the Maghreb region on water savings in irrigation and the development of value chains, benefiting family farmers’ organisations (cooperatives and agricultural water users’ associations). Innovative training methods are implemented and based on participative diagnosis, involvement of trainers from various backgrounds, and the management of the organisation of the training sessions by farmers’ organisations. This approach enables to strengthen the capacities of innovation of small scale irrigating farmers for collective management of water and water savings, to bring a direct support to their projects (like drip irrigation) and to propose tools to public policies on these stakes. It is proposed that this pilot project could be extended to various regions in the Maghreb.

5 irrigated regions in Morocco : Gharb, Middle Sebou, Tadla, Doukkala, Souss ; and 2 in Algeria : Mitidja, Lower Cheliff

The project was initiated by farmers’ organisations in Morocco and Algeria. These farmers’ organisations gather small scale farmers in irrigated schemes, who face challenges to access knowledge relatively to the issue of saving water while continuing to produce food. In Morocco they created an association « Raccord », to carry out vocational trainings on these issues.

The other following actors brought support at all steps (technical, financial), e.g. for the design of innovative training methods.

- French farmers’ organisations, e.g. the Chambre d’Agriculture du Lot.

- Research institutes: Ecole Nationale d’Agriculture de Meknès (Morocco), Ecole Nationale

Supérieure Agronomique d’Alger (Algeria), Cemagref, Cirad, Montpellier SupAgro- Institut

des Régions Chaudes (France).

- The FARM foundation and AFEID (French committee of the International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage).

- Consultancy firms specialised in participative approaches: Cap Rural (Morocco), El Itkane (Algeria), Lisode (France).

A first phase was implemented in Morocco in 2008-2009. About 100 farmers were trained on water savings and value chains in irrigated systems. This first pilot phase enabled to test the methodology : participative diagnosis, trainers from various backgrounds, farmers’ organisations taking charge of the organisation of the training sessions.

A second phase was implemented in Morocco and in Algeria in 2010-2011, benefiting to around 300 farmers. In Morocco it enabled to extend the training sessions to more farmers. In Algeria a first phase of training enabled to test a similar methodology than in Morocco.

The next steps proposed for the development of the solution are the following :

- in Morocco : to test training sessions dedicated to collective projects on water savings : design and implementation.

- in Algeria : to implement new training sessions benefiting to more farmers in different regions, with farmers’ organisations getting more and more autonomous.

- in Tunisia : to explore the interest of supporting similar initiatives.

In the Maghreb region, converting from gravity irrigation systems to drip irrigation systems holds excellent prospects for reducing water demand. Indeed those systems can allow a decrease of 50% of the water demand and increased yields. Nevertheless, drip irrigation is an expensive option that requires intensification of current production.

The largest share of irrigated farmland is held by small and medium scale farmers, who represent the highest potential for agricultural development but face challenges to access knowledge relatively to these issues.

In this context, support to these farmers through vocational training about more efficient water management methods is a priority.

The project RIM enables to carryout vocational trainings in the Maghreb region on water savings, benefiting small scale farmers’ organisations. It is a direct contribution to the target 9 that aims to reduce by 50% by 2020 the proportion of smallholder farmers without access to agricultural water and to water training.

After a first phase in Morocco in 2008-2009, the training sessions were extended in Morocco and in Algeria in 2010-2011. These 2 phases enabled the following results:

- Training sessions carried out in 5 irrigated regions in Morocco and 2 in Algeria, benefiting approximately 400 farmers: drip irrigation, agricultural water users’ associations, value chains in irrigated systems.

- Training sessions targeting both leaders and members of farmers’ organisations.

- Training sessions supporting directly farmers’ projects about water savings: planning, management, financing.

- Farmers’ organisations getting autonomous in the organisation of the training sessions, thus building capacities in these organisations, and contributing to the sustainability of the training programs and the capacity to deliver impacts on the long term.

- Building networks of cooperatives and agricultural water users’ associations at the national level (Morocco and Algeria) and at the regional level (exchanges Morocco-Algeria).

Key qualitative and quantitative indicators of success over time include :

- Farmers’ organisations getting autonomous in the organisation of the training sessions, including defining the content of the training sessions and identifying and selecting trainers.

- Evaluation of the training sessions by farmers being positive, with farmers getting more and more demanding on the quality of the training, which is a sign of capacity building.

- Increasing number of farmers trained (from about 100 in the first phase in 2008-2009 to about 300 in the second phase in 2010-2011) and increasing number of farmers wishing to attend the trainings supported by the project.

- Organisation of exchanges between Algerian and Moroccan farmers involved in the project.

This project should interest the government bodies in charge of agriculture and water, as it can propose tools to public policies in terms of support to small and medium scale agriculture aiming to combine economic development through agriculture and water savings. This is a key stake in the implementation of the new agricultural public policies launched in the Maghreb. For example in Morocco the Plan Maroc Vert identified support to small and medium scale agriculture as a priority and is redefining the system of capacity building provided by extension services. The RIM project can thus provide tools to develop capacity building actions that better meet the needs of small scale farmers, which could be implemented at a larger scale in the context of the implementation of these new agricultural public policies.

The project would then contribute to capacity building in terms of innovation, coordination and negotiation for farmers and farmers’ organisations regarding sustainable water management and strengthen networks and capacities of think tank of farmers and farmers’ organisations on this issue.

The vocational training sessions are developed through an innovative methodology in terms of support to family farmers in the Maghreb region:

- Training based on a participative diagnosis allowing to identify and support the formulation of the farmers’ needs in terms of capacity building,

- Involvement of trainers from various backgrounds: farmers themselves, researchers, private sector, consultancy firms,

- Farmers’ organisations progressively taking charge of the organisation of the training sessions.

The evaluation of the training sessions by farmers is a key process. It enables to express recommandations for the next session about the various dimensions of the training session (content, organisation). It thus allows to refine the quality of the trainings through an iterative process that helps to identify and to meet farmers’ needs. In the project it appeared that this process is more efficient and better appropriated by farmers when the modalities are easy to implement and not excessively time –consuming. For example oral discussions can be used instead of written forms.

Two factors of success can be emphasized :

- the important role played by the leaders of farmers’ organisations, in the design, implementation and diffusion of the approach, being key for the involvement of other small scale farmers and upscaling.

- the partnership between farmers’ organisations and the other actors (research institutes, think tank, consultancy firms) who jointly built innovative training methods that meet farmers’ needs.

- Farmers organisations in the Maghreb region : the « Raccord » association in Morocco, and in Algeria assocations are being created so that the training sessions will benefit to more farmers. Moreover French farmers organisations are associated for exchanges of experience (e.g. the Chambre d’Agriculture du Lot).

- Research institutes: Ecole Nationale d’Agriculture de Meknès (Morocco), Ecole Nationale Supérieure Agronomique d’Alger (Algeria), Cemagref, Cirad, Montpellier SupAgro- Institut

des Régions Chaudes (France).

- The FARM foundation and AFEID (the French committee of the International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage).

- Consultancy firms specialised in participative approaches: Cap Rural (Morocco), El Itkane (Algeria), Lisode (France).

Billy Troy, FARM: billy.troy@fondation-farm.org ; www.fondation-farm.org

Marcel Kuper, CIRAD: marcel.kuper@cirad.fr ; www.cirad.fr

Amar Imache, LISODE : amar.imache@lisode.fr ; www.lisode.com

Hassan Kemmoun, CAP RURAL : hassankemmoun@yahoo.fr ; www.caprural.maA

Carole Lambert, Montpellier SupAgro- Institut des Régions Chaudes

carole.lambert@supagro.inra.fr ; http://irc.supagro.inra.fr/

Presentation of the RIM Project

http://www.fondation-farm.org/spip.php?article526

A video presenting training sessions in the project :

http://www.fondation-farm.org/spip.php?article525