Farmers’ perceptions of water management in Jemna oasis, Southern Tunisia

Stefano Farolfi (), Emmanuelle Lavaine (), Sylvie Morardet (), Oumaima Lfakir, Faten Khamassi and Marc Willinger
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Emmanuelle Lavaine: CEE-M - Centre d'Economie de l'Environnement - Montpellier - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement - Institut Agro Montpellier - Institut Agro - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement - UM - Université de Montpellier
Sylvie Morardet: UMR G-EAU - Gestion de l'Eau, Acteurs, Usages - Cirad - Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement - BRGM - Bureau de Recherches Géologiques et Minières - IRD - Institut de Recherche pour le Développement - AgroParisTech - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement - Institut Agro Montpellier - Institut Agro - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement
Oumaima Lfakir: UMR G-EAU - Gestion de l'Eau, Acteurs, Usages - Cirad - Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement - BRGM - Bureau de Recherches Géologiques et Minières - IRD - Institut de Recherche pour le Développement - AgroParisTech - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement - Institut Agro Montpellier - Institut Agro - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement
Faten Khamassi: INAT - Institut National Agronomique de Tunisie

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Abstract: Groundwater resources are a crucial driver of development. Since the 1970s, the expansion of irrigated land on the margins of the existing 'traditional' oases has been encouraged by the Tunisian authorities to enhance local development. As a result, oases in Southern Tunisia are currently facing sustainability concerns. This situation requires alternative water management approaches, in which local actors collaborate and contribute to the design of new rules. To understand Tunisian oasis farmers' perceptions of water rules and public organisations, in 2021, we conducted an online survey in Jemna, an oasis in the Kebili region in Southern Tunisia. The picture that emerged from the online survey is that farmers in extension areas have distinctive characteristics but also similarities with farmers in the traditional oasis. Both types of farmers mainly cultivate date palm (monoculture), and, like farmers in the extensions, many farmers in the traditional oasis have a private borehole. All farmers in the Jemna oasis clearly perceive the limited availability and poor quality of the groundwater resource. However, they do not believe these problems cause conflict among farmers. They consider that, to solve possible conflicts and to ensure better water management in the oasis, collaboration among farmers is more effective than changes to rules issued by existing organisations. These preliminary results, if confirmed, can have important policy implications, as the farmers' perceptions of water rules and organisations, as well as farmers' willingness to collaborate, are crucial for a possible new approach to water management in the oasis.

Keywords: Farmers' perceptions; Public organisations; Rules; Tunisia (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022-07-08
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-agr, nep-ara and nep-env
Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-03726258v1
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Published in New Medit, 2022, 5, ⟨10.30682/nm2205d⟩

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-03726258

DOI: 10.30682/nm2205d

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