Moroccan Farmers Protest Watermelon Ban Amid Economic Struggles

The farmers in the Tata region are in debt due to the ban on watermelon cultivation. "The alternative crops we have experimented with over the past three years have failed to fill the economic void caused by the ban on watermelon cultivation, as many farmers now find themselves forced to repay debts incurred for agricultural investments made locally a few years ago," Brahim, a former watermelon grower in the region, told Hespress. According to him, the farmers’ wish is that this crop be regulated in the region, like the other neighboring desert regions. "Zagora, which suffers more from drought than us, has not completely banned this crop, but has subjected it to regulation and reduced the cultivated areas," he explained.

The vice-president of the provincial agricultural association of Tata agrees: "the farmers who were engaged three years ago in the cultivation of watermelon in the region are still waiting for a fair solution, because the alternative options proposed have not provided added value; the cultivation of tomatoes and vegetables has not been profitable enough, unlike that of watermelon, from a purely economic point of view. [...] The products we grew last year were sold at derisory prices, it is inconceivable to sell a crate of onions or tomatoes for fifteen dirhams."

Faced with this situation, he pleads for the lifting of the ban on watermelon cultivation in the region. "Our main demand is to restore the cultivation of watermelon under strict regulation. We are ready to reduce the cultivated areas by 80%, and to limit ourselves to 20%; this would be preferable to the current situation," he adds, specifying that "the local farmers collectively cultivated up to 5,000 hectares, or an average of 15 hectares each." The official is trying to convince the Wali to reverse his decree classifying the region as a "drought-affected area" since 2021.

The provincial authorities "maintain that the recent rains have been directed towards the sea and have not benefited the groundwater of the region, although reality shows the opposite, as some wells and springs intended for irrigation have been revived," he said, assuring that "the Tata region has been in economic recession for three years, and the return to prosperity depends on the green light for the cultivation of watermelon."

For now, the Tata prefecture remains inflexible. And, human and civil rights actors in this border region are aligning behind it. The return of watermelon cultivation "threatens the stability of the oasis and represents a means of generating wealth at the expense of the already limited water resources," they argue.