Author: natae_admin

El Rochen (Zarzis south east of Tunisia) is an agroecological farm dedicated to experimentation and knowledge transfer in support of the agroecological transition in Tunisia. In collaboration with the eco-farm OMI HNIA, located in Cap Negro (North Tunisia), El Rochen co-organised the second edition of the Zarzis agroecology festival.

Held from March 29 to 31, 2026, the festival gathered farmers, skateholder, citizen, holders of traditional knowledge, researchers, and associations from France, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine, Senegal and Tunisia. They engaged in discussion, sharing and exchange about knowledge and experiences on agroecology.

In this context, NATAE project participated by a stand during the three days and a project presentation during the second day.

The sixth summit on desertif’action took place from March 25 to 28, 2026 in Jerba, (Tunisia), bringing 450 international participants: representatives of civil society, researchers, NGOs, associations, private and public institutions, local authorities, and farmers and co-organized by CARI, UNCCD, and OSS, in partnership with ACDD and WWF North Africa.

Over three days, participants attended plenary sessions and different group works. The objective of these three days of work was to collectively develop solutions and proposals for COP17 which will be held in Mongolia this summer.

The desertif’action themes were (1) transformation of sedentary agricultural and/or livestock systems, (2) pastoralism, (3) territorial management of water resources and (4) territorial governance.

NATAE was in the heart of this 6th edition, represented by IAMM, CARI, INAT, INGC, RIAM and Al Argoub Association. It was the occasion to present the project during both a side event on March 27th and stand exhibition the last day shared with MEDAE network and the Tunisian Network for Agroecological Transition RTTA.

Within the framework of the NATAE (North African Transition to AgroEcology) project, a three-day training program was organized to strengthen the technical and practical capacities of farmers from the Living Labs of Ait Othmane and Skoura M’Daz.

Coordinated by the National School of Agriculture in Meknes (ENA) in collaboration with The Network of Agro-Ecological Initiatives in Morocco (RIAM), this training aimed to support the transition towards sustainable and resilient agricultural systems based on agroecological principles.

The program was designed as a progressive learning pathway, combining theoretical foundations with practical field applications adapted to the local context.

Within the framework of the NATAE (North African Transition to AgroEcology) project, a three-day study tour was organized for women farmers from the Skoura M’Daz Living Lab, the National School of Agriculture of Meknes (ENA), in collaboration with Atlas Association for Agroecology.
This immersive journey, held from April 26 to 28, 2026, followed a learning pathway across Ifrane, Meknes, and Rabat, combining field visits, institutional exchange, and peer-to-peer learning experiences.

Authored by Valérie Noël with photography by Martin Demay, this work is an invitation to discover the men and women practicing agroecology across North Africa. Through a blend of evocative text and striking imagery, the book explores the landscapes and agricultural practices that define the region’s sustainable future.

This project was made possible with the support of our partners: INAT, El Argoub, ENAM, and GRDR.

We are excited to announce the release of a new travel book titled “Farmers and agroecology. Travel diaries in North Africa,” coordinated by CARI as part of the NATAE project.

Authored by Valérie Noël with photography by Martin Demay, this work is an invitation to discover the men and women practicing agroecology across North Africa. Through a blend of evocative text and striking imagery, the book explores the landscapes and agricultural practices that define the region’s sustainable future.

This project was made possible with the support of our partners: INAT, El Argoub, ENAM, and GRDR.

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.

December 16^th, 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.

Within the framework of NATAE living lab activities, the participatory workshop on scanarios was carried out on 11^th 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.

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.

In November 06^th, IRESA organised, in collaboration of DGACTA and APIA and the support of GIZ and ICARDA through “Strengthening climate resilience through the governance of natural resources in Tunisia, (ReGnR) and “Soil matters: Innovations for soil health and agroecology” projects, a workshop day about “Research and private sector partnership: towards innovation and the promotion of sustainable water and soil management”.

NATAE was invited to participate to this event through a stand. During this event, INAT team shared with the participants the activities of the NATAE’s project focusing on the experience of living lab of El Krib at Siliana via an interactive stand exhibiting flyers and rollups.

The workshop offered an environment for promoting concrete collaboration between public institutions and private sector actors, with an emphasis on technological innovations addressed to the need of agroecology in Tunisia.