Assessment of the impact of an agricultural technical innovation on operating systems and on the sustainability of agriculture : the case of a water motor-pump in the semi-arid land area of Sais in Morocco | Evaluation de l'impact de la diffusion d'une innovation technique agricole sur les systemes de production et sur la durabilite de l'agriculture : cas de la motopompe a eau dans la zone semi-aride de Sais au Maroc

This research carried out on the water motor-pump takes place in the general framework of technology transfer in rural Moroccan areas and its impact on farmers' operating systems and on sustainable agriculture. This problematic is based on the general finding related to the importance of water for the current and future development of the country, and on the lack of studies about the water subterranean exploitation by water motor-pumps in Morocco despite its large-scale diffusion, especially in the small and middle hydraulic areas like the Sal's zone (Fez-Meknes), regions for which the public authorities have an increasing interest. The specific objectives of this research consist in making a current situation diagnosis on internal and external factors which encourage adoption of this innovation by farmers, to assess its impact on their activities systems and suggest a study of the sustainability of carried-out operating systems. This study has been conducted with a systemic approach integrating different actors concerned by exploitation and management of water in the region (294 farmers including 224 people using a motor-pump, 20 people responsible for extension work and 15 water administrators). Positive and perverse water motor-pump diffusion effects in the region were analyzed by quantitative and qualitative indicators. The internal factors which encourage the water motor-pump adoption are external incomes, existence of a family successor and family labor availability. The external factors are consecutive droughts in the eighties, incitement measures, lack of legislation for the handing-out of authorizations for well-digging and pumping. Positive water motor-pump effects are diversification and intensification of operating systems by introduction of irrigated crops especially market gardening, arboriculture and improved cattle breeds, family labor valorization and creating paid work, improvement of the farmers' incomes, creating farmers' cooperative and their opening on technical information sources. The principal factors, which restrict the motor-pump diffusion, are a precarious status, the parceling-out of land and lack of financial resources. Perverse effects of uncontrolled motor-pump diffusion are the over-exploitation and the nitric pollution of ground water. Results obtained permitted to make the diagnostic of the current situation of water motor-pump diffusion and suggest some practical recommendations to secure the sustainability of agriculture in the region.