Bloomberg recently highlighted the severe drought crisis that has been affecting Morocco for several years, detailing its repercussions on the country’s agricultural, economic and social levels. Thus, and according to the platform, the prolonged drought threatens global food supplies, forcing Morocco to increase its cereal imports while compromising its fruit and vegetable exports.
Mohamed Essdiri, a farmer since 1963 in the commune of Ezzhiliga, has never seen the land so dry. Last year’s wheat harvest fell to one tonne per hectare, the lowest level on record, due to the most severe drought Morocco has seen in three decades. The 25-foot-deep well on his property has dried up, and he is now trying to grow barley, a hardier crop.
Reduced grain harvest
Essdiri is one of Morocco’s 1.2 million grain farmers suffering the effects of climate change. The frequency of droughts has increased fivefold this century. Officials predict that the current wheat harvest will be no more than 2.5 million tons, well below budget projections and the lowest level since the 2007 global food crisis.
This situation complicates Morocco’s task of ensuring the supply of cereals to its population, and increases the country’s expenses, already facing high reconstruction costs after the devastating earthquake in the Al Haouz region and preparations for the Cup. of Africa 2025 and the 2030 World Cup.
The situation is reminiscent of the Arab Spring, when rising food prices helped spark uprisings in the region. Wheat harvests in Egypt suffered from extreme heat, and Algeria and Tunisia also experienced droughts in 2023. Abderrahim Handouf, an agricultural researcher at the National Institute for Agronomic Research (INRA), said that cereal agriculture is in crisis, and Morocco will have to increase its wheat imports in the short and medium term.
Michael Baum, deputy director general of the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), said successive droughts have reduced Morocco’s annual production of wheat, durum and barley to 3 million tonnes, compared to 10 million tonnes during the rainy season three years ago.
Exports under threat
The situation is also difficult for growers of tomatoes, peppers, strawberries and olives, whose products fill supermarkets abroad. The El Kerdane area, the largest irrigated agricultural area with an area of 10,000 hectares, has been without water since last November, due to the decline in reserves in the kingdom’s large dams. Authorities have imposed restrictions on exports of onions and potatoes to West Africa to try to lower prices, while the area under cereal crops has been reduced to 2.5 million hectares this year, compared to four million in recent years, according to Minister of Agriculture Mohamed Sadiki.
A critical situation
Morocco, the main buyer of French cereals, spent 562 million euros ($602 million) last year on cereal imports. The drought has led to higher food prices and worsened income inequality between urban and rural areas, with an estimated 200,000 jobs lost in rural areas last year, pushing the national unemployment rate to 13%.
Two thirds of cereal farmers in Morocco work on plots of less than three hectares. Most do not have a tractor, cannot buy seeds, fertilizers or pesticides, do not have access to financing and do not receive training in alternative agricultural techniques. Handouf added that “ Cereal cultivation has become synonymous with poverty in Moroccan villages« .
The Rabat-based Royal Institute of Strategic Studies (IRES) said public programs in recent decades have not fairly served subsistence agriculture, instead providing large subsidies to irrigated areas without controlling their water consumption. ‘water. He recommended prioritizing small farmers in subsidies to contribute to national food security and avoid any risk of unrest.
Impact on women
The drought is also affecting the program led by King Mohammed VI aimed at strengthening women’s participation in the economy. Aicha Aouatchou and her colleagues at a cooperative have not purchased durum wheat to make couscous for two months, due to the poor quality and high cost of the grains available. The price of durum wheat reached 7,300 dirhams per tonne this year, compared to around 4,000 dirhams in 2014. These women earn around 500 dirhams per month, most of them being the main breadwinners of the family.
For Essdiri, he harvested nine tonnes of barley this year, enough to feed his family and cover expenses until the next plowing season. However, he remembers the 1980s when, despite the lack of modern infrastructure, the rains were abundant. “ Now we have these basic services, but we lack rain. Everything is available except the water we use for drinking and agriculture.« .
