In Algeria, the Massire project (“Ma” for Maghreb, “ssi” for innovation system, and “re” for water resources) concerns the wilaya of Ghardaïa, at the gateway to the Sahara. Water resources, which are mainly underground due to the very low rainfall, are mainly fed by floods caused by the flooding of wadis following downpours on the southern slopes of the Saharan Atlas. To collect the surface water from the periodic floods, the local populations have set up ingenious systems: 125 dykes, 5,600 wells tapping the water table, and 690 boreholes tapping the ‘Continental Intercalaire’. These are then used to supply the local population with drinking water, but also to recharge the alluvial aquifers, and for irrigation, particularly for palm groves, the dominant crop covering an area of 11,360 ha with 1.3 million palm trees.

Only 54,000 ha of the wilaya’s soil resources, estimated at around 310,000 ha, are developed. With the introduction of grain maize and alfalfa for livestock feed, the wilaya has recently become a dairy farming area, and has seen rapid growth in recent years.

Using a participatory approach carried out in collaboration with CIRAD, the Massire project aims to identify and select high-potential innovations in water management, and to assess the conditions for adopting them for sustainable development in these North African regions. Among these innovations, some of which are being tested in the hinterland, the project will also analyse the adaptations needed to ensure that this potential is fully realised in the face of global environmental and societal changes. It will also build the capacity of young rural family farmers through training and networking.

The aim of the project is to position small-scale family farmers at the heart of sustainable agricultural and rural innovation systems, with the possibility of interacting continuously with innovation players to identify, characterise, plan, implement and evaluate innovations linked to water governance and rural transformation.

Certain hinterland areas of Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia are the scene of rapid agricultural expansion, the dynamism of which is increasing the pressure on water resources. The resource is being depleted, which can cause problems of inequality and threaten the sustainability of agricultural activity in these areas. The aim of the project is to position small-scale family farmers at the heart of sustainable agricultural and rural innovation systems, where they will be able to work continuously with the innovation players.

The project therefore aims to identify and experiment with technical and organisational innovations in collaboration with local stakeholders. It also involves examining irrigation and agricultural practices, often inspired by agro-ecology, which offer the greatest potential for strengthening the resilience of these areas. In this way, the project is strengthening the skills of those involved in water management, through training and networking. It is developing a North African-wide knowledge network linking young rural men and women in marginal areas with other players, such as associations of irrigators, farmers’ cooperatives, NGOs, government departments, researchers and local start-ups.