MOROCCO – Morocco’s Agency for Agricultural Development (ADA) has announced plans to lease over 5,200 hectares of state-owned agricultural land to private investors in a strategic step to bolster the country’s agricultural sector.
This initiative is part of Morocco’s efforts to mitigate the impact of a prolonged drought that has significantly affected agricultural productivity and employment.
By leasing state-owned land to private investors, the ADA aims to attract investment, foster innovation, and improve the efficiency of agricultural practices. This initiative is expected to help mitigate some of the employment challenges and enhance the sector’s resilience to climate-related shocks.
The newly leased land is distributed across nine key regions: Casablanca-Settat, Marrakech-Safi, Draâ-Tafilalet, Rabat-Salé-Kénitra, Tangier-Tetouan-Al Hoceima, the Oriental, Fez-Meknes, Souss-Massa, and Béni Mellal-Khénifra.
These leases are structured under a public-private partnership framework and have varied terms to accommodate different types of agricultural projects.
For tree plantation and agro-industrial infrastructure projects, leases can extend up to 40 years, while livestock projects have a 25-year term, and annual crop projects are set at 17 years.
Morocco’s agricultural sector has been hard hit over recent years, with its share of job creation falling from 37.8% in 2008 to less than 28% in 2023.
The Central Bank of Morocco (BAM) highlights that the sector has suffered massive job losses, averaging 15,000 positions annually between 2008 and 2017, and escalating to 136,000 annual losses between 2018 and 2023.
These losses are attributed to persistent drought and increased water stress, severely impacting agricultural output.
In May, the Moroccan Ministry of Agriculture announced that the projected production of key cereals, including soft wheat, durum wheat, and barley, for the 2023/2024 agricultural season is estimated at 31.2 million quintals, marking a staggering 43% decline compared to the previous year.
According to the Ministry, the area sown for the season decreased significantly by 33%, now covering 2.47 million hectares, with a harvestable area of 1.85 million hectares.
Total wheat production is estimated at 2.3 million tonnes, 45% lower than last year while barley production is estimated at 600,000 tonnes, 52% lower than last year.
To avert a potential crisis, the North African nation is bracing for a sharp uptick in imports, as domestic production slides due to adverse weather.
According to the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) of the US Department of Agriculture, wheat imports are estimated at 7.5 million tonnes, a 52% increase from Morocco’s 10-year import average.
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