Agriculture dries out Morocco

By exporting tomatoes, watermelons, strawberries or oranges, Morocco sells the water it lacks. In a country faced with a severe drought, a cry of alarm is growing. It comes from scientists, ecologists and entities that warn about the consequences of water-consuming agriculture, largely focused on exports.

The Moroccan government mobilized and, in a decision by the Ministers of Agriculture and Economy, published on September 22, suspended subsidies for citrus, watermelon and avocado crops, responsible for worsening the drought in some regions. Therefore, it will no longer be possible to obtain financing for localized irrigation, whether through wells, pumping or drip irrigation.

The objective is to end the irrigated extension of plants that have reduced the space of other crops, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, which intends to encourage less water-consuming cultivation, such as carob trees, cacti, almond trees, capers and fig trees.

If the measure is welcomed by common sense, on the other hand it will have a moderate impact. There are already investors with the means to establish themselves without subsidies and others who no longer depend on them.

The country is unable to raise the level of its dams, which is around 24%. And farmers dig deeper and deeper wells in search of water. All groundwater is affected, says professor Fouad Amraoui, from Hassan-II University, in Casablanca. The lack of water threatens villages and cities, he explains, in an interview with the French newspaper Le Monde.

The World Bank has warned that Morocco is in structural water stress. With 600 cubic meters per person per year, compared to 2.600 in 1960, water demand exceeds resources. After 500 meters we will reach poverty, says Professor Amraoui. And some regions are already like this.

Morocco imports 100% of the corn it consumes, 98% of its vegetable oils and more than half of its wheat and sugar. That is why the country is preparing to launch a new plan aiming to double its agricultural GDP by 2030.