Understanding the trade-offs between climate change-induced aridity and agricultural water demand in the Souss basin, Morocco

The concept of integrated water resource management requires an in-depth analysis of water inflows into a river basin. Population growth and the uncertainties associated with climate change are causing increased water stress and droughts, which are impacting agriculture. Hence the need for studies on the impact of climate change on demand-supply interactions in river basins. In this study, a generic decision support system, ModSim, was used; for the first time in the region; to examine the agricultural water usage and demands over Souss basin in Morocco. ModSim was calibrated over the period from 1990 to 2019 using recorded data about physical processes and hydraulic infrastructures features and management. The simulations succeeded in replicating different deficit episodes at the various irrigated perimeters. During the simulated period from 2012 to 2019, it was observed that the water supplies for the different dams in the basin experienced a decline ranging from 38% to 89%. As a result, the average total unmet demand for surface water from reservoirs in irrigated areas reached 201 mm3 between 1990 and 2019 and the monthly average demand increases by 55% in the dry season, compared to the demands in the rest of the year. The significant amount of unmet demand across all sites suggests that demands are satisfied by the withdrawal of water from groundwater resources. The adopted approach has proven to be a useful decision support tool to understand water resources planning challenges. Water managers require such reliable tools to represent the basin's water trade-offs. Thus, additional investigation to improve the representation of groundwater/surface water interaction approaches is required to enhance the evaluation of the consequences of different uses, especially in arid and semi-arid regions with significant water stress such as Souss. A conceptual framework as well as a detailed discussion have been produced in order to guide efficient water management and governance

Neglected and underutilised species (NUS): an analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT)

Despite the growing attention to the neglected and underutilised species (NUS) as a valid instrument to promote not only sustainable agriculture and food systems but also sustainable development in rural areas, attempts to move from good intentions to effective actions have been limited. This is due, among others, to a gap in knowledge about the myriads of existing NUS and their potential. In this context, the present paper provides a comprehensive analysis of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) of crop NUS. Data for the SWOT analysis were retrieved through a review of the literature carried out in June 2022 on the Web of Science. Strengths relate, inter alia, to adaptability to harsh, marginal conditions, tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses (e.g. pests and diseases, drought) and low external input requirements of NUS as well as their high medicinal and nutritional values combined with widespread culinary traditions. Weaknesses regard low productivity as well as difficult access to quality seeds, inputs, technologies and knowledge. Higher demand from consumers as well as increasing attention to sustainability and resilience in the whole agri-food system and agroecology represent opportunities for the promotion of NUS to address challenges such as food and nutrition insecurity and poverty. Climate change, biodiversity loss and genetic erosion, land and agroecosystem degradation, loss of traditional knowledge and heritage, and competition from commercial crops are among the main threats to NUS. The SWOT of NUS outlined in this work should inform evidence-based policies and strategies for the promotion of NUS, especially in developing countries. They should also guide the undertakings and actions of all stakeholders interested in the development of NUS value chains

Orphan crops and sustainability transitions in agri-food systems: Towards a multidimensional and multilevel transition framework

Neglected and underutilized species (NUS i.e. orphan crops) are widely claimed to contribute to sustainable development. However, the relationship between NUS and sustainable agri-food systems is still unclear. Therefore, this paper analyses the role of NUS in the transition towards sustainable and resilient agri-food systems and identifies actions needed and levers of change. It draws upon a systematic review of 35 articles identified through a search performed in July 2022 on the Web of Science. The analysis of the literature was conducted following the Multi-Level Perspective on socio-technical transitions (MLP) and its three elements viz. niches, sociotechnical regime and sociotechnical landscape. The review suggests that the transition dynamics and success depend not only on the features of the niche NUS (cf. strengths and weaknesses), regime (cf. barriers to change and competitiveness of major crops with NUS) and landscape (cf. macro-trends and policies) but also on the interactions among them. The levers of change lie in the areas of policy, market and finance, technology, culture, and science and innovation. Further research is needed to elucidate the mechanisms leading to the mainstreaming of NUS into agri-food systems as well as the dynamics of interaction between niche NUS and commercial, staple crops

Sustainability of neglected and underutilised species (NUS): Towards an assessment matrix for crop species.

Neglected and underutilised species (NUS) are widely claimed to contribute to sustainability and sustainable development. Verifying such a claim implies the use of a scientifically sound assessment tool. In this context, the present article aims to suggest a matrix for the assessment of the environmental, economic and social sustainability of NUS. In particular, the paper provides a set of indicators and metrics to assess the different sustainability dimensions. It draws upon a search carried out on the Web of Science in May 2022 that returned 126 records. Eligible documents underwent two steps: in the first step, indicators, metrics and criteria regarding sustainability were identified; in the second step, expert knowledge was used to systematise the identified indicators and metrics according to the three sustainability dimensions and group them into themes. Agronomic aspects were included in the environmental dimension while nutrition, health and cultural aspects were included in the social dimension. One of the main results of the analysis is that there is a dearth of quality scholarly documents dealing with the assessment of NUS sustainability. Furthermore, economic and social indicators and metrics are hard to find. The operationalisation of the proposed indicators requires their contextualisation taking into consideration the conditions in each country/territory as well as the NUS concerned. A further important step to operationalise the proposed matrix implies the identification of a sustainability threshold and an assessment scale for each indicator. Apart from sustainability assessment, the proposed assessment matrix can allow selecting the NUS that have the highest potential and whose promotion can contribute to the sustainable development of the concerned countries and territories

Early Forecasting Hydrological and Agricultural Droughts in the Bouregreg Basin Using a Machine Learning Approach

Water supply for drinking and agricultural purposes in semi-arid regions is confronted with severe drought risks, which impact socioeconomic development. However, early forecasting of drought indices is crucial in water resource management to implement mitigation measures against its consequences. In this study, we attempt to develop an integrated approach to forecast the agricultural and hydrological drought in a semi-arid zone to ensure sustainable agropastoral activities at the watershed scale and drinking water supply at the reservoir scale. To that end, we used machine learning algorithms to forecast the annual SPEI and we embedded it into the hydrological drought by implementing a correlation between the reservoir’s annual inflow and the annual SPEI. The results showed that starting from December we can forecast the annual SPEI and so the annual reservoir inflow with an NSE ranges from 0.62 to 0.99 during the validation process. The proposed approach allows the decision makers not only to manage agricultural drought in order to ensure pastoral activities “sustainability at watershed scale” but also to manage hydrological drought at a reservoir scale

Quality assessment of surface and sediment pore waters and their behaviours using WQI index and geostatistics approaches. Case study: El Malleh dam reservoir, Morocco

The El Malleh dam reservoir is an important water source for irrigation and protection against flooding in the Mohammedia region of the kingdom of Morocco. However, flash floods threaten the sustainability of the reservoir by sedimentation and water quality contamination. Pollution sources could arise from sediment mobilization in the reservoir bottom, or carry by water flow from the watershed to the dam reservoir. The current study evaluates the surface and pore water quality, focuses on their behaviour based on the laboratory results, the Water Quality Index (WQI) and statistical analysis. The results show that the concentration of nutrients was not significant. The concentrations of major elements differ from surface waters to pore waters and from one parameter to another. For instance, the Cl concentration in the surface water ranged from 852 mg L−1 to 1065 mg L−1, and from 10 mg L−1 to 7810 mg L−1 for pore water. Besides that, the calculation of WQI indicated that the sediment pore water quality was unsuitable, and the surface waters quality was in a poor and very poor category

EXPLORING HOUSEHOLD FOOD WASTE ISSUE IN ALGERIA

Food losses and waste (FLW) is a phenomenon that has been underestimated, littlestudied and poorly documented in the Mediterranean countries. Actually, nopolicies, laws, strategies and action plans have been implemented to reduce FLWin Algeria. This exploratory study aims to evaluate household FW in Algeria. Anonline survey with 323 Algerian households was conducted in February-April 2015to assess the knowledge and relative importance of FW; attitudes towards FW;impacts of behaviors regarding food and food management; FW quantity andvalue; as well as barriers and willingness to behavioral change. Sample is genderbalanced(54% female and 46% male) and rather young (93% are less than 44 yearsold) while most of respondents have high education level. Results show thathousehold planning and shopping activities are significant forecasters of FW.Attitudes may change according to periods especially in Ramadan (88% ofrespondents declare that FW increase during this month) and to the category offood (most wasted product groups are fruits and vegetables, cereals and bakeryproducts). Most of the respondents have a good understanding of “use by” fooddate label while they still confuse the meaning of “best before”. It seems that FW iswidespread in Algeria as only 1% of respondents declare that they do not waste anyfood. About 15% declare that their households throw away at least 250 g of stillconsumable food each week. Even though Algeria is considered as a developingcountry, an important part of food wastage occurs at consumer level as in high andmiddle income countries. In order to reduce food waste, efforts should be directedtowards providing consumers with skills and tools to deal with their food-relatedactivities and to better consider the impact of food waste on the environment andeconomy