In the irrigated plains of North Africa, the sustainability of productive resources is subject to multiple threats linked to the prevailing productivist model of irrigated agriculture. These threats, such as soil degradation and unequal access to resources, markets, and information, prompt farmers to mobilize depleting natural resources, including soil and water, in an often environmentally unsustainable way. In order to sustain their farming systems and consequent incomes, farmers sometimes update their strategies by setting-up alternative farming practices. This study aims at mapping and analyzing such existing local farming practices with agroecological potentials. Our approach is based on direct observations combined with 150 interviews of farmers in three major irrigated plains in North Africa, namely, the Merguellil, Upper Cheliff, and Saiss plains, respectively, in Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco. This study shows that a wide range of alternative practices with agroecological potential are emerging (or exist) locally, against the flow of the dominant agricultural model which is rather in favor of intensive practices. The most common practices are developed to improve soil fertility management (production of manure tea, integration of legumes in crop successions), increase per surface agricultural production (relay intercropping, intercropping, agroforestry), or provide multiple ecosystem services (diversification, livestock integration). These practices are jointly used, mostly to (i) increase land-use efficiency, and hence face land fragmentation; (ii) diversify their cropping strategy, and spread out market-related risks; and (iii) reduce expensive production costs related to irrigation and chemical fertilization. The gradient of adoption observed according to national contexts suggests a strong influence of contrasting socio-political and historical factors at the regional to national levels. The analysis of logics in implementing such practices by farmers indicates that economic reasons take precedence over environmental concerns. As such, these practices can be seen as (i) an access to low-cost strategies for small farmers or (ii) a pathway to international markets for agribusiness farmers. Taming the extensive local knowledge related to ecological intensification strategies, as identified in this study, can help to pave the way for a more sustainable agriculture, in this intensively cultivated region of the world.

在北非的灌溉平原上，生产资源的可持续性受到与普遍的灌溉农业生产主义模式有关的多重威胁。这些威胁，例如土壤退化以及对资源，市场和信息的不平等利用，促使农民以一种通常在环境上不可持续的方式调动包括土壤和水在内的自然资源枯竭。为了维持其耕作制度和由此产生的收入，农民有时会通过建立替代耕作方式来更新其策略。这项研究旨在绘制和分析这种具有农业生态潜力的当地现有耕作方法。我们的方法是基于直接观察结果，结合对北非三个主要灌溉平原上的农户进行的150次访谈，这些平原分别是Merguellil，Upper Cheliff，和萨斯平原，分别位于突尼斯，阿尔及利亚和摩洛哥。这项研究表明，与占主导地位的农业模式的发展相反，大量具有农业生态潜力的替代实践正在当地出现（或存在），而这反而有利于集约化实践。已开发出最常见的做法，以改善土壤肥力管理（肥料茶的生产，豆科植物在作物演替中的整合），每单位农业产量的增加（中继间作，间作，农林业）或提供多种生态系统服务（多样化，畜牧业整合） 。共同使用这些做法，主要是为了（i）提高土地利用效率，从而面临土地分割的问题；（ii）多样化其种植策略，并分散与市场有关的风险；（iii）减少与灌溉和化学施肥有关的昂贵生产成本。根据国家情况观察到的采用率梯度表明，在地区与国家层面上，社会政治和历史因素形成鲜明对比会产生很大的影响。对农民实施这种做法的逻辑的分析表明，经济原因优先于环境问题。因此，这些做法可以被视为（i）小农获得低成本战略或（ii）农业综合企业农民进入国际市场的途径。如本研究所述，驯服与生态集约化策略相关的广泛本地知识，可以帮助在世界上这个集约化耕种地区为更可持续的农业铺平道路。根据国家情况观察到的采用率梯度表明，在地区与国家层面上，社会政治和历史因素形成鲜明对比会产生很大的影响。对农民实施这种做法的逻辑的分析表明，经济原因优先于环境问题。因此，这些做法可以被视为（i）小农获得低成本战略或（ii）农业综合企业农民进入国际市场的途径。如本研究所述，驯服与生态集约化策略相关的广泛本地知识，可以帮助在世界上这个集约化耕种地区为更可持续的农业铺平道路。根据国家情况观察到的采用率梯度表明，在地区与国家层面上，社会政治和历史因素形成鲜明对比会产生很大的影响。对农民实施这种做法的逻辑的分析表明，经济原因优先于环境问题。因此，这些做法可以被视为（i）小农获得低成本战略或（ii）农业综合企业农民进入国际市场的途径。如本研究所述，驯服与生态集约化策略相关的广泛本地知识，可以帮助在世界上这个集约化耕种地区为更可持续的农业铺平道路。