- Titre : Water accounting for food security: the case of rainfed and irrigated olive growing in arid regions in Tunisia
- DOI : 10.71751/JAAOGv2i1y2023-12-26
- Auteur : Saida Elfkih; Saker Ben Abdallah; Amel Elkadri
- Abstract :Food and water security become challenging goals in many regions due to biophysical, socio-economic and political conditions, often amplified by climate change and other crises. In this perspective, accounting water is a crucial tool to understand the overall tendency of water consumption and to assist the decision makers in their decisional process about water and crops allocations. In this optic, the present paper aims to undertake a comparative analysis of the water use and conception in the irrigated and rainfed olive growing systems; based on an integrated method combining three key concepts of water computation: virtual water, water footprint and water productivity. The study focuses on a sample of 45 farms of irrigated and rainfed olive growing system located in Medenine and Sfax regions in Tunisia which are characterized by a semi-arid and arid climate conditions. Results show the importance of the theoretical framework adopted in clarifying the state of water consumption in a strategic sector such as the Tunisian olive growing. In addition, the different calculated indicators highlight the importance of the application of a whole technical package and a controlled and efficient use of water to improve the economic profitability of olive cultivation. Finally, the study highlights also the necessity to revise the irrigated olive growing extensions’ policies under arid conditions and to orient and sensitize farms to apply complementary irrigation in critical phases of the tree.
- Pagination : 12-26
