Date palm cultivation in regions such as the Middle East and North Africa plays a crucial role in food security, economic development, and environmental preservation. However, the sustainability of date palm farming is threatened by challenges such as soil degradation and nutrient depletion. To...

Sustainable agriculture in arid and semi-arid regions faces unique challenges that require targeted assessment and intervention. Addressing the knowledge gap in this context, the current study evaluates the sustainability performance of 50 rainfed farms in the Zaër Region of northwestern Morocco using the innovative Indicateurs de Durabilité des Exploitations Agricoles/IDEA method (indicators of farming systems sustainability), which encompasses agro-ecological, social and economic criteria to assess the three pillars of sustainability. Customized assessment criteria and a tailored scoring system, specific to the region’s context, are employed, resulting in a comprehensive grid with 18 indicators across nine components. Data analysis and visualization were facilitated using statistical methods and an Excel macro. The findings reveal limitations in the sustainability of the surveyed farms. Socio-territorial factors, including issues with product quality, insufficient farmer training, limited workforce mobilization and low social involvement, contribute to the overall sustainability challenges. Agroecologically, low crop diversification, inadequate space management, and excessive reliance on chemical inputs are identified as areas of concern. On the economic scale, low specialization levels hinder economic viability despite some financial autonomy. The study emphasizes the need for interventions to enhance sustainability in rainfed agrosystems. Recommendations are provided to address socio-territorial constraints, improve agricultural practices, and promote economic viability. The findings have implications for policymakers, farmers and stakeholders, offering valuable insights for prioritizing strategies and actions to achieve sustainable agriculture in arid and semi-arid regions.

Casablanca, Morocco’s most populous and economically dynamic metropolis, is undergoing rapid and unregulated expansion, leading to accelerated agricultural land artificialization, landscape fragmentation, and growing socio-environmental vulnerability in peri-urban territories. This study investigates the spatio-temporal dynamics of urban expansion within a 40 km buffer around the city, using multi-temporal Landsat imagery (2015–2025), a GIS-based framework, and supervised classification. Four land-cover classes were extracted (urban, vegetation, forest and water) enabling a diachronic comparison of land transformation processes. Two spatial indicators were mobilized to quantify urban dynamics: the Average Urban Expansion Rate (AUER) and the Urban Expansion Intensity Index (UEII). Results reveal that urban areas expanded by up to 387.9% in some communes, with 15 exceeding an AUER of 25% and 17 falling within the “very high development” category based on UEII thresholds. Land artificialization was most intense along southern and southeastern peripheries, notably Deroua, Tit Mellil, Had Soualem, and Sidi Moussa Ben Ali, resulting in severe fragmentation of agricultural land. The classification of communes into four profiles (fast, slow, consolidated, and stable) highlights varying degrees of territorial vulnerability. By integrating demographic trends (2014–2024), the study exposes mismatches between population growth and land consumption, underscoring the urgent need for integrated spatial diagnostics and governance reforms toward sustainable peri-urban land management.

Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) is among the most widely cultivated vegetables globally and ranks top second among the commercially essential vegetables. However, its commercial greenhouse production is constrained by various biotic and abiotic stresses and incompatibility between scions and rootstocks. This study evaluated the qualitative and quantitative attributes of cucumber grafted onto different cucurbit rootstocks. The cucumber variety ‘Yayla’ was used as the scion, while four rootstocks (37100, 37103, pumpkin, and bottle gourd) were tested. Wedge grafting was performed 15 days after seedling emergence, and various parameters were recorded, including plant height, number of leaves per plant, leaf area, fruit length, fruit diameter, fruit weight, total soluble solids (TSS) and pH of fruit juice. The results demonstrated that cucumber grafted on rootstock 37100 exhibited superior performance, with the highest values recorded for plant height (86.25 mm), leaf area (19.66 cm²), fruit diameter (33.46 mm), fruit weight (93.03 g), fruit length (16.91 cm), TSS (3.11 °Brix), and pH (6.57). Conversely, the lowest values for these parameters were observed in plants grafted on pumpkin and bottle gourd rootstocks. The study concluded that grafting cucumber onto rootstock 37100 significantly improves plant growth, yield, and fruit quality attributes, making it a promising approach for enhancing cucumber production.

Morocco’s agriculture is increasingly constrained by climate change, water scarcity, and soil degradation, limiting the effectiveness of conventional farming. Permaculture offers a promising alternative, yet its sustainability in the Moroccan context remains underexplored. This study evaluates the multidimensional sustainability of permaculture farms and identifies key constraints to their resilience, assessing 20 farms in the commune of Brachoua using the IDEA (Indicators of Sustainability of Agricultural Farms) framework, adapted to local conditions through expert and farmer consultation. Scores were calculated across agroecological, socio-territorial, and economic dimensions. Farm typologies were identified using principal component analysis (PCA), with adequacy confirmed by eigenvalues, Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO), and Bartlett’s test, and hierarchical ascending classification (HAC), validated by dendrogram structure and silhouette index. Results show strong agroecological performance (65.1±8.51 points), moderate economic sustainability (61.0±13.53), and weak socio-territorial integration (41.1±12.19). PCA revealed two main axes explaining 85.4% of variance, while HAC distinguished two farm clusters: a small group of high-performing farms with stronger socio-territorial and economic linkages, and a majority cluster with average but uniform profiles. Weaknesses include limited livestock diversity, poor soil and water management, lack of product traceability, and weak community participation. The study concludes that while permaculture supports ecological sustainability and financial independence, socio-territorial deficiencies remain the main barrier. Targeted interventions (farmer training, cooperative development, and quality certification) are needed to improve outcomes. More broadly, the study shows the usefulness of combining IDEA with multivariate statistics to generate farm typologies, offering a transferable framework for assessing sustainability in smallholder systems facing climatic and resource challenges.