ICARDA - Sustainable Management of the Agro-Pastoral Recource Base in the Maghreb

• Forschungsstelle: DEZA
• Projektnummer: 7F-00541.02
• Projekttitel Englisch: ICARDA - Sustainable Management of the Agro-Pastoral Recource Base in the Maghreb

Schlüsselwörter (Deutsch)

ICARDA
Forschung
Entwicklungshilfe
Beziehungen
Ausland
Agronomie

Kurzbeschreibung (Englisch)

During four years SDC supported ICARDA in its research efforts to control desertification in low rainfall and marginal areas of Morocco and Syria. Projects, known as Sustainable Management of the Agro-Pastoral Resource Base in the Oujda Region, Morocco" (short "Oujda Project") and "Sustainable Dryland Resource Management in the Arid Margins of Syria" (short "Arid Margins Project") produced results and recommendations which were of interest for scientists, government policy makers as well as the ultimate beneficiaries i.e. the pastoralists. The cooperation between these three different groups is crucial for the eventual success of the project, namely to stop the further degradation of the soil due to over-grazing. The over-grazing is a result of population and the related animal pressure and leads to accelerated desertification. Other reasons for soil degradation include climatic change , sedentarisation of the population, widespread plantation of barley as a fodder crop which leads to erosion as well as indirect effects of "modernisation" (water wells, extension of road networks, use of tractors).
The projects' ultimate goal is to develop technologies and measures to reverse the trend towards soil degradation and even to rehabilitate some of the degraded soils. The measures to be taken can not be implemented or financed by the project itself on a large scale. Therefore it is essential that the project ties into the major government projects covering larger parts of the steppe area, possibly co-financed by IFAD, World Bank or other international bodies.
Another conclusion from this first phase, which focussed on the Eastern part of Morocco only, was to extend the research to neighbouring Maghreb countries facing similar problems of overgrazing, soil degradation and desertification.

Projektziele (Englisch)

The ultimate beneficiaries of the research products will be farmers and pastoralists in the rangeland areas of the Maghreb. In these low rainfall areas, small ruminants (sheep and goats) represent the principal economic output and contribute a large proportion of the income of farmers and nomadic or semi-nomadic herders. Development of sustainable management strategies will increase farmers' income and will contribute to alleviate poverty and stop out-migration.

The Project's results will be also of great benefit to policy makers, provincial heads and leaders of local organizations and institutions. In particular, the several on-going development projects will immediately use the project's findings to overcome constraints facing these projects.

The use of participatory tools for the sustainable management of the agro-pastoral resource base will also yield favorable environmental impacts.

Concerning water resources, rationale use of rangeland will have positive hydrological implications by reducing evapotranspiration quick runoff leading to improved ground water recharge. Surface water quality will improve and the quantity of water available to plant growth will increase due to reduced runoff and increased soil water holding capacity.

Abstract (Englisch)

1. Appraisals of current environmental status of the target zones, the socio-economic status of the communities that utilize them, and of past research and development efforts, as the basis for monitoring change and subsequent appraisals of the socioeconomic and environmental consequences of technical and public management options for rangeland/livestock/cropping systems in the study areas;
Maps on range condition and encroachment of agricultural practices into traditional rangeland in the study areas.
2. A report on rangeland contribution to livestock nutrition and the technical, institutional and policy options to allow sustainable feed.
3. A report on mechanisms for empowering local communities produced and discussed with farmers and pastoralists, policy makers, provincial heads and leaders of local organizations and institutions, and stakeholders of on-going development projects.
4. Identified technical, institutional and policy options developed are integrated into a range management scheme that would sustain the production system, and tested in pilot sites.
5. NARS scientists trained in the use of GIS/RS, appropriate socioeconomic analysis and modeling tools, methods of feed production and utilization, range rehabilitation and range and small ruminant management. National agricultural research system and extension divisions are significantly improved.

Umsetzung und Anwendungen (Englisch)

ICARDA will continue to be responsible for managing and coordinating the project, including responsibility for financial management and donor reporting.

Each country will designate one of its scientists collaborating in the project as a "National Coordinator" who would operate in close coordination with ICARDA's Project Coordinator and ICARDA's North Africa Regional Office.

A "Regional Research Coordination and Planning Meeting" will be held annually in which the scientists from the national institutions collaborating in the project, ICARDA, and other related institutions, will review the results of the past work and finalize plans for the coming season.

During the third year of the project an external evaluation shall assess the achievements of the project.