In Tunisia, water erosion affects more than half of the agricultural land area. To combat the degradation it causes, over a million hectares of farmland have been managed through contour benches since 1960. However, many of these areas still encounter issues with water erosion processes, and the reasons behind these poor outcomes remain unclear. This study aimed to provide feedback from a case study where contour benches have been extensively implemented as a water and erosion control measure. It consisted in comparing a biophysical assessment based on the identification and mapping of erosion issues and contour benches degradation with an analysis of local stakeholders’ perceptions obtained by survey. The study area is the Sbaihia catchment (3.57 km², northern Tunisia), which is representative of semi-arid hilly farmland and is characterised by a 42% contour bench surface. Our results show discrepancies between the perceptions of local stakeholders and the findings of the biophysical assessment. In particular, they highlight a lack of knowledge and awareness of local stakeholders who were not involved in the land management program, resulting in inappropriate practices and modifications of the contour bench sequence by them