From the Montado to the Oasis: sharing on transdisciplinarity and participatory methodologies

As part of the Agroforesteam,  project, MED researchers Helena Guimarães and Catarina Isidoro recently travelled to Biskra, Algeria, at the invitation of local partners from the DEDSPAZA Laboratory at Mohamed Khider University. This collaboration included a two-day training session and the facilitation of a Multi-Actor Platform session on the local Oasis System, organised within the scope of the project.

AGROFORESTEAM

Funded by the PRIMA programme, Agroforesteam aims to promote agroforestry in the Mediterranean region through Multi-Actor Platforms (MAPs), developed to overcome the technical, policy, and socioeconomic barriers to the implementation of these systems.

With the support of the MED team, MAPs are being developed in the project’s partner countries: Algeria, Spain, France, Italy, Morocco, and Tunisia. These platforms seek to create spaces for dialogue and collaboration to address the challenges facing local agroforestry systems.

As a reference for the development of these platforms, the MED team has drawn on the experience of the Tertúlias do Montado — an initiative with over ten years of history that promotes regular and structured dialogue among Montado producers and managers, researchers, public administration, and other territorial stakeholders, with the aim of collectively building a shared vision for the future of this agro-silvo-pastoral system.

Training on transdisciplinarity and participatory methodologies (20–21 April)

The first day focused on the concept of transdisciplinarity and the integration of competencies as research strategies, drawing on concrete examples from initiatives and projects of the LABscape research group, which works collaboratively and in a transdisciplinary manner on the study of Mediterranean rural landscapes, bringing together different areas of expertise to address real-world challenges.

The second day was dedicated to group facilitation and participatory methodologies, in sessions built upon the content of the previous day in a cumulative logic, in which participants were encouraged to apply the concepts and tools to the planning and running of the local MAP sessions, as well as to their respective research and professional practice contexts.

Multi-Actor Platform Session on the Biskra Oasis System (22 April)

On 22 April, the MED researchers attended the second meeting of the Biskra Oasis System MAP, facilitated by the local partners within the Agroforesteam project.

The Biskra region is Algeria’s largest date producer and is characterised by a silvo-arable system based on date palms. This system integrates date palms with fruit trees (such as pomegranates, fig trees, and apricot trees), annual crops (such as alfalfa, cereals, and vegetables), and in some cases small livestock.

Dedicated to the theme of “Water scarcity and management in oases”, the session brought together farmers from both traditional and modern oasis systems, researchers, representatives of public bodies, and specialist technicians, who discussed the suitability of existing irrigation techniques for agroforestry systems and explored practical, locally adapted solutions to improve water use efficiency. The session also included a field visit to a date palm plantation, where participants were able to observe firsthand the challenges and solutions related to water management in these systems.