Agroecological soil management in North Africa: practices, challenges, and prospects for sustainable transition

Summary

This narrative review synthesises current evidence on agroecological soil management practices across North Africa, examining their benefits, limitations, and localisation potential. The authors propose an integrated framework combining traditional agroecological approaches (organic amendments, biochar, agroforestry, direct seeding, mulching, crop diversification, cover cropping) with emerging digital technologies (remote sensing, smart soil sensors, decision-support platforms) to enhance agricultural resilience. The review emphasises that advancing this transition requires supportive policies, stakeholder participation, interdisciplinary research, and context-specific capacity-building.

UK applicability

Whilst North African agroecological practices address climate and desertification challenges distinct from UK conditions, the framework integrating traditional soil management with digital decision-support technologies may offer transferable insights for UK regenerative agriculture and precision farming. However, direct practice adaptation would require substantial contextualisation for temperate climates, higher rainfall, and different crop types.

Key measures

Qualitative assessment of agroecological practice efficacy, resilience metrics, resource preservation, and technology integration potential; no quantitative outcome metrics specified

Outcomes reported

The review synthesised evidence on agroecological soil management practices (organic amendments, biochar, agroforestry, direct seeding, mulching, crop diversification, cover cropping) and their benefits, limitations, and adaptation potential across North African countries. The authors evaluated how integrating these practices with emerging technologies (remote sensing, smart soil sensors, digital decision-support platforms) can enhance agricultural resilience and resource preservation.

Topic tags