The Living Lab of El Krib in the Siliana district, Tunisia, marked the start of the 2024-25 cropping season with a Field Kick-Off Day on October 24, 2024 under the NATAE project. Supported by the CGIAR Research Initiative on Agroecology and hosted by ICARDA in collaboration with INGC, INAT, and local stakeholders, the event brought together 54 participants, including farmers, researchers, extension agents, and NGOs with a remarkable 50% female participation.
The initiative aligns with NATAE’s broader goals to scale up agroecological practices across North Africa through its seven Living Labs located in five countries (Algeria, Egypt, Mauritania, Morocco, and Tunisia), addressing multi-aspect challenges at the economic, environmental, social, and policy levels. A key objective of this event was gathering farmers’ feedback on the co-designed agroecological practices that were identified at the El Krib Living Lab site, and therefore to help further refine these practices and guide the Living Lab’s research roadmap in the following phases of the project.
The four agroecological practices were co-designed under the NATAE project mainly in response to the challenges faced in the El Krib Living Lab such as poor soils, irregular rainfall, and soil erosion, given the semi-arid climate, and the vulnerability of the local agricultural system which revolves around cereal-livestock farming.
- No-tillage + Crop Rotation (Cereals/Legumes)
- Intercropping (Forage Mixtures) + Livestock Integration
- Forage Mixtures + Livestock + Reduced Chemical Inputs
- No-Tillage + Crop Rotation + Livestock
The Field Kick-Off Day was an interactive experience, emphasizing co-creation and knowledge exchange between the different attendees. Farmers engaged in discussions, provided feedback on proposed practices, and witnessed a rainfall simulation showcasing the benefits of no-till farming for water retention and soil conservation.
Read more about it: Unleashing Agroecology in Tunisia: Highlights from NATAE’s Inspiring Field Kick-Off Day