Autonomie et dépendance des irrigants en grande hydraulique: Observations de Taction organisée au Maroc et en Algérie

Abstract

It is conventionally stated that organized action is impossible in large-scale irrigation schemes in North Africa, at a time of profound changes in these schemes (decline of central coordination modes, appearance of new actors, diminishing role of the State), and of negative experiences with state-created cooperatives and water users' associations. We believe, on the contrary, that organized action plays a central role in these changes. We analyze the process by which formal and informal cooperative practices of irrigators are crafted, stabilized and coordinated in large-scale irrigation schemes in Morocco and Algeria. There exists a wide range of organized action, often informal but enabling © NSS-Dialogues, EDP Sciences 2009.