From soil to society: A transdisciplinary assessment of farmers' adoption of agroecology through the social-ecological systems framework in Algeria

North African countries are increasingly facing climate change, natural resource degradation, and food crises. Algerian regions such as Laghouat are one of the hotspots where problems such as soil degradation, desertification, and water scarcity are experienced. Current agricultural production systems are not responding to future needs and are inadequate to address these problems. Agroecology emerges as a promising alternative that can respond to growing future needs by providing resilient and sustainable production systems. This study investigates the factors affecting farmers’ adaptation to agroecology in Laghouat, Algeria, using Elinor Ostrom’s Social Ecological Systems Framework (SESF). We apply our mixed-methods methodology in the field to systematically examine the complex relationships of the system, resource systems and, governance, and actors. Our findings suggest that the negative impacts of unsustainable agricultural practices, combined with climate change and misguided policies, are leading to a problematic trend that results in a system that is losing its resilience and sustainability and is becoming increasingly vulnerable. However, the study also highlights that farmer training, incentives to support the adoption of environmentally friendly practices, and strong social networks can significantly increase the transition to sustainable agroecology. These insights underline the need for integrated and collaborative strategies to achieve sustainable soil management, and hence more resilient agricultural system. • Agroecology can induce sustainable agricultural land management and improve soil health in a systematic manner. • Transdisciplinary approach helps understand SES by integrating social, ecological and economic aspects of soil and land use. • Participatory and site-specific methodology has been developed to implement Social Ecological Systems framework.