馃嚥馃嚘MoroccoNorth Africa
Food sovereignty requires refocusing on farmers and territories, expert says
via Le Matin9 min read
Soufiane Bouchakour, an expert, states that drought is now a structural element of agriculture, not a cyclical event. He emphasizes that the current exceptionally rainy season, with dams at 72.1% capacity compared to 36.6% a year ago, should not lead to complacency regarding adaptation efforts. Bouchakour proposes three key changes for agricultural policies: prioritizing water usage for strategic food security crops like cereals and legumes over water-intensive export crops; shifting towards conservation agriculture and improved rainfed agriculture, including direct seeding, soil cover, and drought-tolerant varieties; and revising agricultural zoning to match crops with agroclimatic regions, supported by financial aid for reconversion. He also suggests strengthening sovereignty over basic products, maintaining export positions for high-value, low-water-consuming sectors, and accelerating the use of unconventional water resources, citing the national roadmap's goal of 1.7 billion cubic meters per year of desalinated water by 2030. Bouchakour criticizes current aid mechanisms for livestock, noting their ineffectiveness despite significant investment, leading to national herd erosion and increased meat prices. He identifies three weaknesses: aid is often short-term for structural problems, poorly targeted, and lacks traceability and accountability. He advocates for counter-cyclical aid, including generalized multi-risk climate insurance and stabilization funds. To better structu
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The unemployment gap between men and women in Morocco has increased to 9.7 percentage points since the pandemic, with the women's unemployment rate reaching 20.5% in 2025, compared to 10.8% for men, according to Bank Al-Maghrib's 2025 annual report. This gap was 5.7 points in 2019. Additionally, women earn less, with a nearly 23% wage gap in urban areas in 2019, according to the High Commission for Planning HCP. Morocco ranks in the bottom decile globally for gender equality, despite constitutional provisions. The activity rate for women decreased from 21.5% to 19% between 2019 and 2025, while for men it fell from 71% to 68.5%, maintaining a 49.5-point gap. Rural areas have seen a significant increase in disparities, largely due to successive years of drought impacting agricultural activity, which employs 86.4% of active rural women. Social norms also contribute to these inequalities; a 2017-2020 global values survey found that 64% of men and 48.3% of women in Morocco believe men should be prioritized for jobs when opportunities are scarce. Furthermore, 69% of men and 54% of women consider being a housewife as rewarding as paid employment. Practical difficulties such as insufficient work flexibility and inaccessible childcare services also hinder women's participation in the labor market. This issue extends beyond Morocco, with a World Bank study indicating that removing barriers to women's employment in the Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan, and Pakistan MENAAP region c
Must ReadMr. Bourita represented His Majesty the King at the African Union's extraordinary summit focused on eliminating AIDS by 2030. During the event, Mr. Bourita highlighted the Royal Vision for African health sovereignty, emphasizing solidarity, social justice, and knowledge sharing. He noted that Morocco, under the leadership of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, has made health a strategic pillar of its continental cooperation, aligning with the summit's key themes: local manufacturing of medical products, innovative financing, and political governance. The summit addressed the elimination of AIDS by 2030, the fight against preventable maternal deaths, endemic communicable and non-communicable diseases, and the strengthening of health systems. This summit followed the 38th ordinary session of the Conference of Heads of State and Government's decision on evolving health priorities in Africa. The summit reviewed an AU roadmap for 2030 and beyond, aiming to sustain the HIV/AIDS response, enhance health system resilience, and improve health security across the continent. The Moroccan delegation, led by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation, and Moroccans Residing Abroad, included representatives from the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Economy and Finance.
Aziza Haddad discusses the Moroccan agri-food industry's approach to food safety, highlighting it as a major public health and consumer trust issue. The industry focuses on risk management across the entire value chain, from raw material sourcing to market placement, to protect consumer health and safety. Key challenges include ensuring product quality and adherence to regulatory standards, particularly law 28-07, through technical means, digital tools, and regulatory monitoring. Consumer trust is another significant challenge, as consumers are increasingly informed and demand transparency regarding product origin, composition, manufacturing methods, and safety guarantees. This demand is met through clear labeling, including nutritional information and preservation instructions, and digital platforms for consumer interaction. The industry also prioritizes issues related to climate change, carbon footprint, and sustainable development. Significant evolution in practices includes a shift from finished product control to a preventive risk management culture, integrating risk analysis, self-monitoring, traceability, and continuous improvement. Digital transformation has enabled real-time monitoring and efficient management of corrective and preventive actions, while the adoption of international standards has elevated sector performance. Lesieur Cristal, an early recipient of ONSSA sanitary approvals, exemplifies this commitment, strengthening its quality and safety management sy