Dans un contexte de rareté de l'eau, les pays de l’Afrique du Nord Ouest (NWA) consomment 70% de leurs ressources en eau renouvelables. La surexploitation des eaux souterraines, estimée à près de 50%, est devenue un défi majeur pour la conception et la mise en oeuvre de politiques durables d'allocation et de gestion de l'eau dans la région. Cette situation menace l'avenir de l'irrigation, où la contribution des eaux souterraines est déterminante : 100 % en Libye, 68 % en Tunisie, 54 % en Algérie.
The COVID-19 pandemic and the measures taken by governments on social distancing and mobility restrictions have contributed to boosting the use of digital technology to bridge some of the physical access gaps. An increasing number of services and extension/information activities are delivered through digital tools and applications. E-commerce has also flourished. As a result, the potential of digital technologies has gained prominence in immediate response and recovery strategies and programmes.
Developing irrigation technology for a diversity of farmers with rapidly changing demands can be hard for designers, especially when the technology concerns smallholders in developing countries. Innovation networks supporting the adopted technology increasingly include both globalised players and very local actors, making innovation intermediaries capable of translating innovation issues for different actors increasingly indispensable.