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The current study was aimed to assess practices, roles and challenges of peri-urban agriculture in Rabat Metropolis. Through purposive and stratified random sampling methods 50 respondents were selected. To achieve the objectives of this study, both qualitative and quantitative methods of data analysis were used. Data collection from farmers was based on field observation, interviews and field surveys. Descriptive statistics such as frequency distribution, Chi-square test, tests of normality and homogeneity of variances and Principal Component Analysis (PCA), were used. According to the major findings of the study, the major types of peri-urban farming practices in the study area includes: horticulture or production of fruits and vegetables, crop farming and some livestock rearing such as beef farming, sheep farming and poultry farming. The survey result reveals that there are various significances of PUA in the study area: it contributes to the economic development of the metropolis as it generates income for farmers, creates employment, contributes to food supply and enhances economic use of land and environmental beatification of the city. In the Metropolis of Rabat, PUA faces several constraints: legal constraints mainly the absence of laws regulating this activity and the obligation of some farmers in the peri-urban area to pay housing taxes. It is also subject to many technical constraints such as insufficient workforce and high labor costs, difficult access to irrigation water, lack of training and technical supervision and support from the concerned body. Finally, recommendations and suggestions have been forwarded based on the findings of the study.

A characterization based on agricultural practices was carried out using surveys of 50 farmers in six agricultural zones in peri-urban area of Casablanca in Morocco. The objective was to assess the potential of peri-urban farms for transition towards more ecological production methods. The study revealed that 96% of farmers use chemical inputs, only two of them adopt organic or agroecological production methods and 14% of respondents plan to convert to organic farming. The typology allowed deducing that peri-urban farms are medium to large (> 3 ha), mostly family-owned and 24% of them adopt subsistence farming (vegetable crops, cereals, leguminous and fruit trees). All farms have common strengths, such as the widespread practice of crop rotation and associations and organic fertilization. Thus, they are playing a major role in environmental management by recycling livestock products in form of organic manure and by using crop compost for soil maintenance. However, farms are facing global challenges in terms of the significant expansion of urban spaces, insufficient and high cost of agricultural labor, lack of technical support and water shortage. But also, specific challenges in terms of use of synthetic pesticides and sustainable fertilization for an agroecological transition. Producers are unaware about the effects of their practices on the environment, especially in peri-urban areas where technical support is insufficient and awareness of health and environmental impacts of agricultural practices needs to be consolidated.