There is an increasing societal pressure on agriculture to limit groundwater pollution caused by the intensive use of synthetic pesticides and fertilisers. In France, 1000 sensitive water catchments face a legal obligation to develop and implement agri-environment measures to reduce pollution from agricultural practices. However, these measures are generally not suitable for diverse farm management types and then improperly applied to preserve or restore roundwater quality. In this context, we developed a participatory approach exclusively with farmers. The objective was to codesign scenarios that encompass farm structure and strategy, and support adapted agroecological practices, to improve water quality. Each scenario is a combination of changes including farmer’s practices, cropping systems, material or human resources. The participatory approach involved rounds of workshops with individual and groups of farmers and was applied in one case study in South East of France. The designed scenarios have been evaluated in terms of agronomical, social and economic performances and their efficiency to reduce pressure on groundwater quality. Our results show that this approach tailored scenarios for farmers predicated by collective expertise. This approach makes it possible to take into account individual farm management constraints and helps to breakdown local lock-ins. It fosters involvement of farmers in a participative process, and should favour long-term changes of agricultural practices to recover groundwater quality. This facilitation method can be used by local stakeholders in order to facilitate the development of catchment-specific programmes including measures suitable for farm management diversity and assumed to recover groundwater quality