Pilot overview

Geographical location: governorate of Adrar, Reggane region, Ksar Ait Messaoud Oasis, 10 km north Reggane.

Local irrigation problem: water shortage due to the depletion of the forages that feed the entire oasis with water. Water shortage in Ksar Ait Messaoud Oasis led a gradual abandoning of irrigation.

Pilot theme: Restoration of the foggaras’ flow rate using solar pumping and rehabilitation of the oasis farming system.

Farming System: family oasis farming system destined to local consumption.

Agricultural System: a family poly-farming system based on date palm cultivation (local variety) and other food crops.

Water Resources: three exhausted foggaras and overused surface wells.

Availability of irrigation water: the oasis suffers a severe problem of water deficiency.

Water Quality: the foggaras contain good quality water of 2g/l salinity whereas the wells’ water salinity may reach 3-4g/l.

Water management: foggaras are run in a collective manner and surface wells are used individually.

Threats: total depletion of foggaras, continuous decrease of the piezometric level and increase of wells’ water salinity.

State of the farming System: in case no intervention was made to valorise irrigation water, irrigation would be completely abandoned in the medium-term due to water shortage and desertification will dominate the region.