The arid and marginal areas in southern Maghreb (Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia) constitute vast regions. Development challenges and the legitimate aspirations of the well-being of local populations must be managed in a context of acute constraints, such as structural water shortages or increased pressure on other natural resources (land, primary biomass, etc.). Based on the contributions to the thematic issue of the journal Cahiers Agricultures entitled "Agricultural systems in the arid zones of the Maghreb facing changes: actors, territories and new dynamics", this introductory article allows us to understand these so-called marginal regions as places of production, innovation and resilience. A set of trans-disciplinary approaches were conducted within the framework of the Massire project. This project also initiated and monitored multi-stakeholder processes to generate knowledge co-production and promote co-learning. The work focused specifically on the palm oases of Gharda & iuml;a in Algeria, Ferkla in Morocco and K & eacute;bili in Tunisia, but also on the mountain area of Mesmrir in the central High Atlas in Morocco and the region of M & eacute;denine in Tunisia. The scientific articles in this thematic dossier analyze different innovations, initiated by local actors in their diversity (young people, women, local leaders involved in promoting collective actions, etc.) or carried out collectively within the framework of multi-stakeholder processes. The articles highlight the strong potential of these innovations for greater territorial resilience, over time.