Introduction
In recent years, the MENA region has increasingly explored sustainable agricultural solutions that not only improve production, but also preserve natural resources, reduce dependence on chemical inputs, and strengthen the resilience of farming systems (Gaudin & Requier-Desjardins, 2025). For instance, ICARDA’s Smart Relay Intercropping project and the Actinobacteria Biofertilizers project from Ibn Zohr University, both in Morocco, were developed to support these goals. Together, these projects show how sustainability can be applied practically in agriculture through soil improvement, resource efficiency, crop diversification, reduced chemical inputs, and improved farmer resilience (ICARDA, 2025; Goumbook, 2025).
Smart Relay Intercropping as a Regenerative Cropping System (Morocco)
ICARDA’s Smart Relay Intercropping of lentil with chickpea or quinoa was selected in 2025 as one of the top five solutions in Goumbook’s 2024-2025 MENAT Regenerative Agriculture Programme. The project supports regenerative agriculture solutions for the Middle East, North Africa, and Turkey, based on a simple but effective idea: instead of growing only one crop, farmers grow lentils first, usually seeded in November, followed by chickpea or quinoa seeded around February (ICARDA, 2025).
This system allows farmers to harvest two crops in one year while making better use of seasonal rainfall and soil resources. Lentils benefit from the early rains, while the second crop benefits from later rains (ICARDA, 2025). Beyond rainfall timing, because the crops have different root depths, they can also access water and nutrients from different soil layers, reducing competition between them (Ruillé et al., 2026).
The project is considered regenerative because it improves soil fertility, increases crop diversity, and reduces the risks associated with monocropping. According to ICARDA (2025), Smart Relay Intercropping can enhance profitability by approximately $582 to $5,000 per hectare and boost water productivity by 25%. It also raises protein yield by 30% to 50% and soil fertility by 30%, while increasing the yield of the following wheat crop by 10% to 15% compared to wheat-wheat systems. These outcomes make the project significant not only environmentally, but also economically, particularly for smallholder farmers in dryland areas (ICARDA, 2025).
Actinobacteria Biofertilizers for Soil Health and Crop Resilience (Morocco)
The Actinobacteria Biofertilizers project was also selected as a 2024-2025 winner in the MENAT Regenerative Agriculture Venture Programme. Developed by Omaima Marhane from Ibn Zohr University, it focuses on isolating and characterizing water-stress-tolerant actinobacteria found in arid soils (Goumbook, 2025). Actinobacteria are beneficial soil microorganisms known to support plant growth, enhance microbial activity, and help plants tolerate environmental stress (Shahrajabian & Sun, 2025). In this project, they are being explored as biofertilizers that could reduce dependence on chemical inputs while restoring soil fertility and strengthening crop resilience.
Although the Actinobacteria project remains at an early stage, it is presented as an innovative solution with considerable future potential. It is particularly significant because it addresses one of the core needs of sustainable agriculture: rebuilding healthy soil biology (Fausak et al., 2024). By improving soil structure, microbial activity, and plant tolerance to abiotic stress, these biofertilizers could become an important part of climate-adaptive agriculture in arid regions (Goumbook, 2025).
Conclusion
Together, these projects represent two complementary sides of regenerative agriculture. ICARDA’s project improves the cropping system itself by changing how crops are combined and timed, while the Actinobacteria project focuses on enhancing the biological quality of the soil through natural microbial solutions. Both projects point toward a more sustainable agricultural future for Morocco and the wider MENA region. They demonstrate that sustainability in agriculture can emerge from practical field-based changes as well as scientific innovation, and that restoring soil health is becoming a central part of the region’s response to environmental and agricultural challenges.
Chloe Tannoury
References
- Fausak, L. K., Bridson, N., Diaz-Osorio, F., Jassal, R. S., & Lavkulich, L. M. (2024). Soil health – A perspective. Frontiers in Soil Science, 4, Article 1462428. https://doi.org/10.3389/fsoil.2024.1462428
- Gaudin, M., & Requier-Desjardins, M. (2025). Agroecology and global health: How can agroecology help improve food security in North Africa? NATAE Project. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18496907
- (2025). MENA Regenerative Agriculture Venture Programme Cohort 2024/25 winners. Retrieved June 15, 2026, from https://goumbook.com/regenerative-agriculture/2024-2025-winners/
- International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA). (2025, May 26). ICARDA’s smart relay intercropping among top 5 innovations of MENAT Regenerative Agriculture Programme. https://icarda.org/media/our-awards/icardas-smart-relay-intercropping-among-top-5-innovations-menat-regenerative
- Ruillé, M., Beillouin, D., & Prudhomme, R. (2026). Ecological drivers of intercropping performance for enhanced global crop production. npj Sustainable Agriculture, 4, Article 8. https://doi.org/10.1038/s44264-025-00110-z
- Shahrajabian, M. H., & Sun, W. (2025). Microbial interaction of Actinobacteria strains with various plants, promote growth and development in natural farming, and alleviating biotic and abiotic stresses. Discover Sustainability, 6, Article 564. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43621-025-01413-4