Participation of NATAE in scientific day

NATAE in scientific day, december, 22th, 2025

During the kick-off of projects funded by IRESA and under the title of « strengthening durum wheat resilience: agroecological practices and smart tool-assisted irrigation”, INAT was at rendezvous in the “regional research centre for field crops of Béja”, (CRRGCB) during December 22th 2025.

In the context, of “improving the resistance of durum wheat to biotic and abiotic stresses through the adoption of climate-resilient agroecological practices”, NATAE project has been presented, even the results of the 2024-2025 season concerning cereal plain of the Living Lab experience in the EL Krib region have also been reviewed.

Participatory workshop in replication Lab of Kebili region

Workshop in replication Lab of Kebili region (December 16th, 2025)

December 16th, 2025, INAT in partnership with INRGREF organised the first workshop for the promotion of replication Lab in Kebili oasis. A total of 38 participants were present including farmers, researchers and professionals. The day revolved around two Horizon Europe projects; NATAE and TRANS-SAHARA, using agroecology and agroforestry for a sustainble agriculture.

This event was also an opportunity to the farmers and stakeholders of the Kébili region to participate to a workshop dealing with the AE practices and their evaluation in the oasis system. At the end, discussions allowed to highlight the main of AEPs and to co-design significant and useful indicators that can be used to evaluate these AEPs in the oasis system.

Participatory workshop on scenarios

Participatory workshop on scenarios, december, 11th, 2025

Within the framework of NATAE living lab activities, the participatory workshop on scanarios was carried out on 11th december 2025 at URAP of ElKrib. A total of 35 participants were present including farmers, researchers and professionals. This activity has been organized by INAT and INGC, in coordination with WP2 and WP6 teams, as it is connected to the integrated modeling chain, which enables certain scenarios to be explored in greater detail using quantitative simulations.

This workshop was devided into 2 sessions. The first session was an opportunity to discuss future scenarios of two main issues : water and soil fertility, throught the building of causal maps and to assess expected changes through the adoption of agroecological practices (AEPs) at farm and living lab levels. The second session was dedicated to investigate, classify, and weight the factors influencing policy success to support the transition towards agroecology. Several topics were assessed mainly : water management, land legal status, training and capacity builiding in the field of sustainable agriculture, crops rotation and subsidies to support agroecological farming system.

The exchange of thoughts and ideas among stakeholders was very fruiful and brought to light a clear framework of the central issues, as well as a clear overview of the opportunities and barriers to fostering the implementation of agroecological practices.

 

TRAINING SESSIONS IN MOROCCO LIVING LABS

December 8th and 9th, 2025 | MOROCCO LIVING LABS

Within the framework of the NATAE project, the National School of Agriculture in Meknès (ENAM) in collaboration with ICARDA and the Atlas Association for Agroecology conducted an intensive training program for 20 participants from both the Skoura M’Daz and Aït Othmane Living Labs on December 8th and 9th, 2025. The program was designed as a progressive journey, beginning with comprehensive theoretical sessions to establish core agroecological concepts before transitioning into practical, field-based applications.

 

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The program featured four specialized training sessions:

• Training 1: Introduction to Agroecology: practices for soil, water, and biodiversity
preservation.
• Training 2: Organic Fertilization and Composting: Transforming crop debris into fertilizers.
• Training 3: Marketing and Commercialization of Agroecological Products.
• Training 4: Techniques for Plant Multiplication Under Greenhouses.

On December 8, 2025, at the Jenan Lalla Yamna demonstration farm selected as an in-situ platform to immerse participants in a sustainable ecosystem the program opened with two 3-hour sessions.

Pr. Ghizlane Echchgadda, a professor-researcher at ENA Meknès and leader of the Skoura Living Lab, and M. Abdelaziz Ngadi, an agronomic engineer and manager of the host farm, led the first session on Introduction to agroecology, focusing on soil fertility restoration, water conservation, and biodiversity. This was followed by a 3-hour training on Organic Fertilization and Composting conducted by M.Ngadi, which provided hands-on techniques for transforming crop debris into natural fertilizers. The day concluded with a field visit to the farm, allowing farmers to observe practical applications of various agroecological practices such as crop association and biomass recycling.

On December 9, 2025,the program moved to the National School of Agriculture in Meknès for a 2-hour session on the Marketing and Commercialization of Agroecological Products. During this session, Pr. Hajib El Kasmi from the rural economy department utilized the “Mix Marketing” (4 Ps) framework to teach participants how to transform the quality of agroecological harvests into a clear competitive advantage. The training focused on optimizing the product, choosing strategic distribution channels like direct farm sales, and using promotion tools such as social media platforms and word-of-mouth to reach clients.

Additionally, farmers were equipped with strategies for pricing and understanding labels (Bio, SPG) to ensure the economic viability and long-term sustainability of their farms. The training program concluded with a 3-hour practical session on Plant Multiplication under Greenhouses held at the application nursery, where manager M. Mounaim taught essential techniques for vegetative multiplication and nursery climate management.

By bridging the gap between theory and practice, this multi-stakeholder initiative significantly
strengthens the technical and organizational resilience of rural communities facing climate and socioeconomic challenges.