Morocco Aims to Expand Organic Farming Tenfold by 2030, Meeting Growing Demand

With the evolution of demand, measures are being taken to meet it. Thus, the Génération Green Agricultural Strategy (SGG) plans to reach 100,000 hectares of cultivated area by 2030, while it currently occupies 12,000 hectares, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, through an information note on the organic farming sector. In addition to spontaneous plants, including the argan tree, medicinal and aromatic plants, prickly pear and carob, as well as capers, olive trees, almond trees, citrus fruits and market garden crops and aromatic and medicinal plants are the main cultivated sectors.

Regarding production, the sector produced a volume of 120,000 tons in 2019 compared to 40,000 tons in 2010 and 80% of the organically cultivated area is concentrated in the Fès-Meknès, Marrakech-Safi, Souss-Massa, Casablanca-Settat and Rabat-Salé-Kénitra regions. In terms of exports, the sector recorded a volume of 170,000 tons in 2019, compared to 10,000 tons in 2010. Moreover, even if the objectives of the 2020 program contract have not been achieved, the results show that the sector is very promising.

Organic farming began in Morocco in the 1990s and was consolidated within the framework of the Green Morocco Plan, through the organization of its actors and the structuring of its components. Today, this sector has been governed since September 2018 by Law No. 39-12, making Morocco the second country in Africa to have its own legislation in terms of organic production. In addition, for the development of this sector, the State has developed incentives for the certification of products and conversion to organic mode. What remains to be done today is to invest in improving logistics for market diversification and the enhancement of organic products through the development of the agri-food industry, where there are also markets to be developed.