Agriculture
From The Report: Morocco 2015
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The government’s Green Morocco Plan, launched in 2008 to run through 2020, aims to boost productivity through closer public-private collaboration, while at the same time improving smallholders’ earnings. While the country has in recent years made significant strides in boosting food output, several segments – including cereals, powdered milk and table oil – fall shy of their potential, and Morocco continues to rely heavily on food imports to meet demand. Even so, the value of food exports in Morocco grew 3.2% from 2013 to 2014, with the increase driven mainly by processed foods and seafood.

This chapter contains interviews with Mohamed El Guerrouj, Director, Agency for Agricultural Development; and Rita Maria Zniber, CEO and Chairman, Diana Holding.

Articles from this Chapter

Overview

Agricultural investment programmes boost production in Morocco
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Representing one of Morocco’s largest GDP contributors, and responsible for approximately 4m jobs, the agricultural sector has long been a major driver for export revenues, job creation and rural development in the kingdom. However, Morocco’s agricultural sector is now also increasingly serving as a platform for value creation, manufacturing and social development. Planning Ahead The Green Morocco Plan (Plan Maroc Vert, PMV), launched in 2008 to run through 2020, is the kingdom’s strategic…

Interview

Mohamed El Guerrouj, Director, Agency for Agricultural Development: Interview
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Interview: Mohamed El Guerrouj To what extent has the implementation of publicprivate partnerships (PPPs) in agriculture contributed to the development of the sector? MOHAMED EL GUERROUJ: PPPs were launched in 2004 as part of the government’s strategic vision to liberalise the economy, as the process of leasing agricultural state land had previously been handled by state companies. This vision has set a number of goals to enhance the value of land assets, aiming to develop agricultural segments…

Interview

Rita Maria Zniber, CEO and Chairman, Diana Holding: Interview
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Interview: Rita Maria Zniber What are the agriculture sector’s chief challenges? RITA MARIA ZNIBER: Morocco’s agriculture sector has long benefited from special attention by the public authorities, especially given its contribution to GDP and the number of jobs it creates. The widespread fragmentation of land use, which led to essentially subsistence farming with low yields, has hindered productivity and competitiveness, though large operators with the required expertise can achieve the necessary…

Analysis

Morocco invests in agribusiness and improves agricultural efficiency
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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. Between 2000 and 2011, sector turnover increased by an annual average of 6%. Key growth segments…

Analysis

Morocco tomato exports to EU on the rise
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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, are produced in the regions of Souss-Massa-Draa and Doukkala-Abda. Between 2007/08 and 2012/13, production…

Analysis

Morocco shows export advantages in agriculture sector
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In 2013 foodstuffs accounted for more than 15% of the country’s total exports. Fresh fruits and vegetables, processed fruits and vegetables, and fresh and canned seafood constitute Morocco’s three main exported food categories. Overall, Europe takes in up to 63% of the kingdom’s exported food goods and the country has been increasingly looking into diversifying its customer base to supply more markets notably in the Middle East, Eastern Europe and Africa. Fresh & Processed Goods Bolstered…

Analysis

Morocco expands use of fertilisers in agriculture
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Demand for fertilisers has increased in recent years, prompted by the ambitious Green Morocco Plan (Plan Maroc Vert, PMV) strategy to develop and modernise Moroccan agriculture. Chief among the PMV’s objectives is the target to bring annual fertiliser consumption up from its current 900,000 tonnes to 2m tonnes by 2020. Today, Morocco’s use of fertilisers lags behind its neighbours, consuming 45 units per ha versus 120 units in Tunisia and 250 units in Spain. Consumption Attempts at expanding…