Remote sensing as a complementary tool for monitoring the effects of agricultural policies: The case of the irrigated area of Tadla Azilal (Morocco)

Agricultural policies are human driving forces that can influence various processes within the landscape due to land-use assignation. Along this work, an innovative methodological framework based on remote sensing techniques is proposed for the analysis of the effects coming from the implementation of any change in agricultural production and for diagnosing the sustainability of irrigated agricultural systems located at arid regions in developing countries. In this sense, the main goal of this paper lies in proposing an efficient and reliable methodology for the multitemporal mapping of cultivated areas at a regional scale and the calculation of socio-economic performance. The undergoing hypothesis is that the emerging “object-based image analysis” techniques could be successfully applied on medium resolution satellite images such as Landsat series. This approach has been tested on a representative region of intensive cultivation in arid areas such as the irrigated area of Tadla Azilal (central Morocco). The application of the developed methodology has allowed helping, as a complementary tool, in strengthening the underlying hypothesis of a relative failure of the liberalization of agricultural production sector and the refunding of the code of agricultural investment after nearly thirty years of its application. In accordance with this hypothesis, yet to be contrasted through other field-based studies, a series of recommendations for improving socio-economic and environmental sustainability of the agricultural system are conducted to serve as guidance for other similar agricultural systems also located in arid areas.