Socio-economic analysis and typology of agricultural holdings in the Souf region CITY-ALGERIA

Abstract

Algerian Saharan region is considered the most vulnerable area to the microclimate degradation effects, due to the fragility of its ecosystem, economies, and infrastructure. In fact, from an economic standpoint, this climatic fragility affects the agricultural production in the oases, which largely affects the quality of life in brittle desert areas. This study highlights farming in the Oued Souf area (southeast of Algeria) through work includes, as well, two main factors such as technological intervention and informed policy support, which mainly affect the farms currently. Furthermore, this study analyses these farms at both terms of socioeconomic and technical levels. Moreover, the surveys concerned 120 randomly selected farms located in five municipalities (Hassi Khelifa, Trifaoui, Ouermes, Reguiba, and Taghzout), and used a close questionnaire containing structured and semi-structured questions. As a result, the study determined four types of farms based on economic, social, and technical criteria using multivariate statistical techniques such as Multiple Correspondence Analysis (MCA). The first type is composed of farms, where the owners/managers are the most engaged in agriculture; in the second type, along with the marketing of horticulture, there are arboriculture and date palms, where pivot irrigation and drip irrigation are used. The third type includes farms with large areas and less consumption of incoming budget. Finally, the fourth type covers farms whose Owners/managers are changing their activity.