1. B. On-farm trials for adoption of suitable management techniques 1.Farmers who used an old durum wheat variety known as “Toumlilt” or Var. 272 2. Farmers who used a relatively recent durum wheat variety “Karim” 3. Conclusion and recommendations: Good management of fertilization and early weed control permitted to double cereal yields in most cases. Other factors should be addressed, such as varieties adapted for the mountainous climate, mechanical seeding, disease management… The experience should be generalized to other farmers. C. Cropping systems diversification We intended through this study to introduce new and alternative crops to the site of the project in order to diversify cropping systems, based mainly on cereals and fallow, and therefore diversify sources of income for farmers. The main results will be presented in a separate poster. Several experiments were conducted on farmers fields to test the adaptation of alternative crops. The crops introduced were: Caper (Capparis spinosa); Cumin (Cuminum cyminum); Caraway or wild cumin (Carum carvi); Coriander (Coriandrum Sativum); Fennel or sweet cumin (Foeniculum Vulgare); Fenugreek (Trigonnella foenum-graecum). Cumin Coriandre Fennel Carvi Fenugreek Caper Partners of the project :  IAV Hassan II and BAFI - BYU;  Direction de l’Enseignement, de la Recherche et du Développement (DERD);  Provincial delegation of Agriculture, Khénifra (DPA);  Agricultural Technology Institute (ITA of Benkhélil, Khénifra). We would like to thank the local authorities of Khenifra, the population of the three villages and all partners of the project. Introduction Being a mountainous region in the centre of the middle atlas, the Khénifra province is dominated by traditional farming. The agricultural production system is based on the combination of cereal production and livestock (mainly sheep & goats). Vegetables and fruit trees are also practiced where irrigation is possible. The neglect of the Khénifra region in particular and the mountainous regions in general by the successive national five years development plans, and low investment of agronomic research in these regions, add to the many environmental limitations to intensive crop production. Study Objectives : The main objectives assigned to this action plan, which is a part of a more comprehensive development project aiming to improve farmers income, nutritional status and well-being of the population of three villages in Agouddim region, are : Describe the cropping systems and determine the relative importance of different crops; Characterise the crop management techniques and identify the major constraints to yield improvement for cereals; Conduct demonstration trials on farmer’s fields on cereal intensification & on new & alternative crops. Materials and Methods : A. Surveys The survey, was done in 1999 on a sample of 42 farms representing the main farms categories. Farmers were surveyed twice, at planting time and just prior to cereal harvest. It followed a more general survey done by a multidisciplinary team on all 106 farms existing in the three villages: Ait Benhammou, Ait Ali Ou Hmad, and Ait Ali Oukassou. B. On farm demonstration trials A set of trials addressing major yield determining crop management techniques & the introduction of new & alternative crops was proposed; The emphasis was put on fertilization and weed control in 2002-2003; For both years, fertilizers were applied according to soil test and yield goal. Only phosphorus was applied in the form of 11-55-0 instead of the classic use of 14-28-14; Total nitrogen applied was split into two applications: at planting, and tillering stage; Weed control was done at 3 leaf stage of cereals using Tribenuron methyl instead of the classic 2,4-D applied generally late in the growing season. Possibilities for Improvement of Farmers Revenues through Cropping Systems Intensification & Diversification: A strategy for a sustainable development. The case of Agoudim/L’hri, Province of Khenifra. S.B. ALAOUI*, A. CHOUHAB**, A. EL BEJJAJ** BAFI BYU * Professor, Institut Agronomique et Vétérinaire Hassan II, Rabat, Morocco; ** Agronomists. Visit to on farm demonstration trials and an outreach session within ITA-Benekhlil in Mai 2003. Results A. Survey results About 64.3% of land suitable for agriculture is planted to cereals (durum wheat, soft wheat and barley). The rest is left as fallow; Average yields are low and quality is poor. Average yields were: 750 kg/ha, 710 kg/ha and 840 kg/ha, respectively for durum wheat, soft wheat and barley; The majority of farmers use moldboard plow in the spring; Most of them use the tandem (commonly called “cover crop”) for seedbed preparation; Poor seed bed preparation; Low seeding rates for all cereal species; The majority of farmers seed manually; Sowing date is generally delayed (mid November to mid December); Very low use of certified seeds: * 86.4% of farmers don’t use certified seeds; * 59.1% of farmers use seeds produced on their farms; * 27.3% of farmers purchase seeds from the local markets; None of the farmers used soil test; Dominance of 14-28-14 as a fertilizer; Nitrogen is applied according to rainfall independently from the crop growth stage; Inadequate or poor control of predominant weeds and diseases. UpgradeFarmers practiceLSD (5%) Plants/m²18815418 Ears/plant1.41.10.2 Grains/ear39338 1000 kernels weight (g) 43.841.81.2 Grain yield (kg/ha)44256.3 Weeds/m²26439.4 UpgradeFarmers practiceLSD (5%) Plants/m²19717912 Ears/plant1.41.20.4 Grains/ear36248 1000 kernels weight (g) 43.137.69.5 Grain yield (kg/ha)40196.8 Weeds/m²19307.9