ABSTRACT
Major socioeconomic changes during the last four decades have led to a decline in farming in the mountainous parts of central and southern Tunisia and gradual abandonment of traditional techniques of harvesting rainwater, such as the jessour. In these arid areas, farmers and scientists are carrying out joint experiments designed to reduce the labour required to maintain the jessours. In the process, they are stimulating each other to innovate to increase the productivity of rain-fed agriculture
