Despite having different climate conditions from the rainy plains of the northern part of the kingdom, Morocco’s southern provinces have been able to establish a small but active agriculture sector that takes advantage of large aquifers and high temperatures. As a result, agriculture – and animal husbandry in particular – represents a growing proportion of the region’s economy and a key sector…
With vast quantities of maritime resources in the waters along its coast, Morocco’s southern provinces have transformed the fisheries sector into one of the region’s most important sources of income. Continued growth, however, will depend on the local industry’s capacity to raise the number of value-added activities carried out locally on its annual catch. The southern provinces’ resources…
With an unspoiled coastline, vast swathes of desert and a unique cultural heritage, Morocco’s three southern provinces have the right ingredients to support a sustainable tourism industry. Although the region lags behind others in terms of site development and accommodation, private and public initiatives are helping to open up new opportunities for niche products and increase visitor traffic. Up…
With a vast area and distant urban centres, establishing adequate transport links to cover Morocco’s southern territories has been challenging. Great distances and relative remoteness have certainly impacted the business environment, raising business costs for local industries. This is, however, gradually changing. Investment Rising public investment in infrastructure has expanded the capacity…
To reduce dependency on international markets as well as emissions from energy production, Morocco has established a plan to make renewable sources a central part of its energy mix. By 2020, just under half of the country’s power is expected to be generated from renewable energy. There is a strong focus on developing wind and solar, which are predicted to have an installed capacity of 2000 MW each…
On a map of the world showing so-called insolation, or the amount of “solar irradiance” hitting the surface per sq metre, there are three notable patches of dark red. One lies in western Australia; another in the southwest US; and the third stretches from Algeria across North Africa all the way to Saudi Arabia. It is these areas that have the greatest potential for solar energy. These days, the…
Alongside plans to diversify sources, Morocco’s energy strategy has also put a strong emphasis on improving efficient usage. A big step in this regard was the creation of the National Agency for the Development of Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (Agence Nationale pour le Développement des Energies Renouvelables et de l’Efficacité Energétique, ADEREE), which is tasked with reaching renewable…
While the process has taken longer than expected in early 2015, after repeated delays, the National Agency for Telecommunications Regulations (Agence Nationale de Réglementation des Telecommunications, ANRT), Morocco’s telecommunications watchdog, allocated 4G broadband network licences to Morocco’s three operators. The process for the launching of the 4G licence auction has taken time to come…
As the country’s second-largest industrial subsector, agribusiness makes up around 27% of industrial GDP. The sector’s value added stands at around Dh30bn, (€3.26bn), accounting for about 30% of industrial value added. Made up of some 2050 industrial units ( comprised mainly of small and medium-sized companies), agribusiness employs up to 143,000 people, representing 25% of the industrial workforce.…
Tomatoes constitute one of Morocco’s main fresh exported agricultural produce and a key revenue earner. Between 2007-08 and 2012-13, Morocco exported an average of 414,277 tonnes of tomatoes annually, accounting for 33% of production. Europe remains the kingdom’s primary trading partner in this segment, absorbing about 350,000 tonnes of the crop annually. Production Tomatoes, for the most part,…
