the liberal model of agricultural growth in the maghreb countries and the deterioration of natural resources

Abstract

Natural resources in the Maghreb region are scarce and deteriorating
due to overexploitation and accelerated climate change. National strategies aimed at preserving these natural resources (soil, water, forests and biodiversity) proved unable to tame a serious environmental crisis. The adoption of a liberal-inspired agricultural growth model and the imperative evoked by public agricultural policies to increase production ‘‘whatever it
takes’’ to achieve the objective of food security encourages intensive use of
these natural resources. It drives overexploitation and deterioration which endangers the ecological balance of agricultural systems in the region.