Recompositions des agricultures familiales au Maghreb : une analyse comparative dans trois situations d'irrigation avec les eaux souterraines

In Maghreb, family farming has been changing rapidly in areas where access to groundwater and private irrigation are developing. In these areas, we assume that there is an emergence and development of entrepreneurial practices on family farms which are characterized by more financial investment and increasing income. The aim of this paper is to analyze the reconfiguration of Maghreb family farms which use groundwater and to compare them with their usual representations by policy makers. This approach is based on surveys carried out in three regions (Sais in Morocco, Biskra in Algeria, and the Kairouan plain in Tunisia). The reconfiguration of family farms in these contexts can be explained by technical (innovative irrigation devices) and economic (strong connection to markets) changes and by modifications in social relationships among family members. The entrepreneurial practices observed facilitate the access to land, water and expertise and rely on informal arrangements. However, these reconfigured family farms show signs of weakness, especially since public policy does not fully take them into account.