Implementation of the Project to Support Agroecological Initiatives in Oasis Areas in Morocco (PIAZO-M) is gaining momentum with the hiring of three staff members and the launch of key activities to conduct a territorial assessment and establish the Living Lab in the three municipalities within the project’s intervention area.
The project implementation team was expanded in early June with the hiring of two agricultural technicians, Mr. Abdessamad Mountasser and Mr. Abdeljalil Ouabou, as well as a program coordinator, Ms. Imane Oussaid. This expansion of the team made it possible to launch several activities related, on the one hand, to conducting the regional assessment and, on the other hand, to setting up the Living Lab.
Regarding the regional assessment, surveys of local farmers have been launched. Over the next few weeks, 61 farms will be studied, in particular to determine their level of agroecological adoption using the TAPE (Tool for Agroecology Performance Evaluation) developed by the FAO. An initial workshop to analyze the conditions for the development of agroecology in the region has also been held. Bringing together local elected officials and institutional stakeholders, this cross-sectoral workshop will be followed by three additional workshops—one per municipality—that will bring together farmers and representatives of agricultural cooperatives. Finally, a field visit by the technical support officer, Mr. Hassan Mouradi, provided support to the project’s deputy coordinator, Ms. Elisa Tricaud, in conducting landscape assessments and analyses aimed, in particular, at identifying the territory’s structural elements and landscape units, as well as gaining a better understanding of the interactions between natural environments, human activities, and land-use patterns.
Regarding the establishment of the Living Lab, several local stakeholders were identified and invited to an initial meeting to present the Living Lab and the role of the representative committee in facilitating this regional innovation initiative alongside the project team. A second meeting will be held in the coming weeks with those who have agreed to join the committee for the duration of the project.
July and August will be used to finalize the regional assessment and to present its results to the members of the representative committee at the start of the school year, prior to the launch of the second phase of the Method for Analyzing the Resilience of Agricultural Systems (MARSA).
