مؤسسة الشرق الأوسط للنشر العلمي
عادةً ما يتم الرد في غضون خمس دقائق
Water shortages and recurring dry periods have become structural barriers to agrosystems in semi-arid areas, as in Morocco. Although there have been tremendous investments in irrigation reform, current agricultural water use is not sustainable due to weak monitoring systems, fragmentation, and the lack of implementation of management tools at the farm level. Here, we examine current agricultural water management practices in an agro-economically promising basin in Morocco (Souss-Massa) and develop a comprehensive Climate-Smart Water Management Model (CSWMM). The study combined structured interviews with farmers and farm managers (n ≈ 80), semi-structured interviews with institutional actors, and field observations. The findings indicate a dependence on groundwater (over 80% of farms), the expansion of drip irrigation without significant water-saving potential, limited uptake of Climate-Smart Agriculture beyond technological measures, limited diffusion of Environmental Management Systems, and the need to conduct systematic water accounting. Based on this empirical evidence, the CSWMM model, as an operational framework that integrates Climate-Smart Agriculture practices and simplified Environmental Management System logic, has been developed. It combines water accounting indicators and institutional coordination mechanisms. The model presents a realistic avenue to enhance drought resilience by being more water-use efficient and harmonizing farm-level decision-making with basin-scale governance. The results demonstrate that sustainable agricultural water use will be facilitated by a transition from technology-based solutions to integrated management and governance.