This is a power struggle that is playing out against a backdrop of critical water stress. In the province of Tata, the ban on growing watermelons is deeply divisive. On one side, farmers who cry out against economic persecution; on the other, civil society applauding a survival measure to save the groundwater.
Severely affected by the earthquake that struck Morocco in September 2023, the Atlas cypress, a protected species, is threatened with extinction due to human exploitation and climate change.
Faced with persistent drought and water stress, Morocco has opted for an unprecedented but costly solution: irrigation with desalinated water.
The persistent drought, combined with the scarcity of water resources and the worsening deficit of groundwater tables, have prompted the Ministry of Equipment and Water to prohibit the Drâa-Oued Noun Hydraulic Basin Agency from issuing drilling permits for wells to agricultural investors on collective lands in the province of Ouarzazate.
Civil society actors are calling for massive awareness campaigns to urge Moroccans to refrain from celebrating Eid al-Adha, in accordance with King Mohammed VI’s call , issued at the end of last February.
The severe drought affecting Morocco has apparently not impacted olive oil exports to the European Union, which have recorded a notable increase at the beginning of the current campaign. A situation that has led to a surge in the prices of this product on the local market, far exceeding 100 dirhams per liter.
Moroccan watermelon exports have experienced a record decline in the first ten months of 2024, reaching only 113,500 tons, the lowest level since 2017. The persistent drought and cultivation restrictions in certain regions of the kingdom would explain this decline.
The local authorities of Zagora have been carrying out a large-scale operation since last Thursday to ensure that farmers comply with the decision limiting the cultivation of watermelons in the province. Offenders will face the full force of the law.
In Morocco, voices are rising to call for the cancellation of the sacrifice of the Eid Al-Adha festival this year due to the persistent drought that has already destroyed a considerable part of the sheep herd.
Parliamentarians have questioned the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, Rural Development and Water and Forests about the high cost of olive oil and the fraud affecting this product highly prized by Moroccans.
The governor of the province of Tinghir, Ismaïl Heikel, has recently decided to ban the cultivation of red and yellow watermelons throughout the municipalities under his jurisdiction, for the 2024-2025 agricultural season.
Faced with severe drought, Spain is considering building desalination plants, as Morocco has already done, which has been suffering from a water shortage for six years due to lack of rainfall.