Agriculture in Morocco
Agriculture in Morocco employs 23.4% of the nation's workforce, making it one of the largest employers in the country. In the rainy sections of the northwest, barley, wheat, and other cereals can be raised without irrigation. On the Atlantic coast, where there are extensive plains, olives, citrus fruits, and wine grapes are grown, largely with water supplied by artesian wells. Livestock are raised and forests yield cork, cabinet wood, and building materials. Part of the maritime population fishes for its livelihood. Agadir, Essaouira, El Jadida, and Larache are among the important fishing harbors. Both the agriculture and fishing industries are expected to be severely impacted by climate change.
Moroccan agricultural production also consists of oranges, tomatoes, potatoes, olives, and olive oil. High quality agricultural products are usually exported to Europe. Morocco produces enough food for domestic consumption except for grains, sugar, coffee and tea. More than 40% of Morocco's consumption of grains and flour is imported from the United States and France.
The agriculture industry in Morocco enjoyed a complete tax exemption until 2013. Many Moroccan critics said that rich farmers and large agricultural companies were taking too much benefit of not paying the taxes and that poor farmers were struggling with high costs and getting little support from the state. In 2014, as part of the Finance Law, it was decided that agricultural companies with a turnover greater than MAD 5 million would pay progressive corporate income taxes.
Production
Morocco produced in 2018:- 7.3 million tons of wheat ;
- 3.7 million tonnes of sugar beet, which is used to produce sugar and ethanol;
- 2.8 million tons of barley ;
- 1.8 million tons of potato;
- 1.5 million tons of olive ;
- 1.4 million tons of tomato ;
- 1.2 million tons of tangerine ;
- 1 million tons of orange ;
- 954 thousand tons of onion;
- 742 thousand tons of watermelon;
- 696 thousand tons of apple;
- 616 thousand tons of sugarcane;
- 500 thousand tons of melon;
- 480 thousand tons of carrot;
- 451 thousand tons of grape;
- 319 thousand tons of banana;
- 256 thousand tons of chili pepper;
- 128 thousand tons of fig ;
Main products
Below is a table of the agricultural output of Morocco according to estimates of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization. Data is from 2009:Reform
The agricultural sector suffers from deep structural problems; it remains very sensitive to climatic fluctuations and to the pressures of trade liberalisation. This sector accounts for approximately 15% of GDP and occupies almost half of the population. What is more, 70% of the poor live in rural areas, which results in a massive rural exodus towards the cities or the EU. The reform of the sector is not only essential in itself but is unavoidable because of the deadline for the liberalisation of agricultural trade with the EU. To be able to profit fully from this liberalisation Morocco will have to improve the health and plant health situation. The issue of what is effectively a water subsidy to promote the cultivation of cereals in unfavourable areas will need to be tackled.Another significant issue are the working conditions for labourers. In 2013, Solidary Hands documented 1,910 violations of the Moroccan labor code, including 112 cases of insults and punishments, 68 unfair firings and two cases of rape. Shaml came to similar results in 2014, with farm workers of 19 different neighborhoods in the north of the country describing 855 cases of sexual assault, ranging from harassment to rape.
Land
Morocco is endowed with numerous exploitable resources. With approximately of arable land and its generally temperate Mediterranean climate, Morocco's agricultural potential is matched by few other Arab or African countries. It is one of the few Arab countries that has the potential to achieve self-sufficiency in food production. In a normal year Morocco produces two-thirds of the grains needed for domestic consumption. The country exports citrus fruits and early vegetables to the European market; its wine industry is developed, and production of commercial crops is expanding. Newer crops such as tea, tobacco, and soybeans have passed the experimental stage, the fertile Gharb plain being favourable for their cultivation. The country is actively developing its irrigation potential that ultimately will irrigate more than.Drought
Nevertheless, the danger of drought is ever present. Especially at risk are the cereal-growing lowlands, which are subject to considerable variation in annual precipitation. On average, drought occurs in Morocco every third year, creating a volatility in agricultural production that is the main constraint on expansion in the sector.Droughts are most commonly the main concern for farmers in Morocco due to the major agricultural production that is a massive part of Morocco's economy.
Hashish
Morocco is the world's largest exporter of hashish, the resin from cannabis. According to the World Customs Organization, Morocco supplies 70% of the European hashish market. Although statistics vary widely, hashish production is estimated to be 2,000 metric tons per year, with up to 85,000 hectares devoted to cannabis production, with a market value of $2 billion. In the mid-1990s, due to record rainfalls following drought years, European experts reported that the area under cultivation for cannabis increased by almost 10%. The rains of late 1995 and 1996 were a blessing for Morocco, ending a multi-year drought. Those same rains were a boon to the drug trade. In Tangier, this meant more jobs in the drug trade for those who could find no other work, particularly as the agricultural trade dried up with the drought.Today, the drug trade continues to grow, with areas used for cultivation spreading beyond the traditional growing areas of the central Rif to the west and south in provinces including Chefchaouen, Larache and Taounate. This growth continues despite a well-publicized campaign in the 1990s to eradicate drug trafficking.