While there are countries like the U.S. that have the soils, technology and money for its citizens, some countries aren’t so lucky.
Morocco is facing major economic challenges due to consecutive years of drought and substantial production declines, especially in the rain-fed grain sector. The country mostly raises wheat, barley, corn and cereals, fruits, vegetables and rice.
Experts point to climate change as a major reason for the country’s struggles in the agri-food sector, which in 2023 contributed 16% of its GDP and 19% of total exports. Some 67% of rural jobs and 36% of all jobs are in agriculture and ag-related positions.
However, Morocco looks to change its fortunes after it was announced in December the World Bank’s Board of Directors approved $250 million for the “Morocco Transforming Agri-food Systems Program", which is aimed at increasing the country’s resilience to climate change and strengthening food safety and quality.
The program is designed to improve climate resilience and risk management in rainfed agriculture by promoting climate-smart practices and improving water and soil management through conservation agriculture.
The program, proponents say, will help improve livelihoods and increase job quality by stabilizing yields and mitigating climate risks, including expanding no-till agriculture and increasing the area covered by reformed agricultural insurance systems.
This initiative will also strengthen food safety, food quality and nutritional security by supporting the expansion of organic farming to 62,000 acres. The Program also aims to support farmers in producing and marketing quality food and increasing their incomes through better market access.
The program is expected to benefit 1.36 million people, including almost 120,000 farmers and over 1 million consumers with improved food safety and nutrition security.
A paper released recently by Nanyang Technological University in Singapore asserts that Morocco is, “emerging as a leading force for regenerative agriculture in Africa, the world’s driest inhabited continent by percentage of landmass after Australia.”
Morocco is home to the Sahara Desert - a territory over twice the total area of the European Union - as well as the Namib and Kalahari Deserts. At least 65% of Africa’s land is degraded, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), with the rate of desertification increasing due to climate change.
The university says that in contrast to Western countries, “where regenerative agriculture is primarily promoted as means of combatting climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions,” Africa’s priority is utilizing regenerative ag’s focus on improving soil health to counteract desertification and to increase crop yields.
That’s where the focus should be with regenerative ag. If farmers don’t see how those practices benefit the bottom line, there will not be much buy-in. While it’s unfortunate the challenges in Morocco had to get this severe before something was done, we applaud the World Bank for investing in this effort.
