Promoting Climate Resilient Irrigation in Morocco

Morocco is experiencing fluctuations in water availability exacerbated by the impacts of climate change, resulting in declining rainfall, groundwater depletion and alarming degradation of water resources; The World Bank-funded Large Scale Irrigation Modernization Project is fostering the adoption of drip irrigation promoting better water consumption and energy while increasing agricultural productivity; The Global Water Security and Sanitation Partnership bolstered this support by financing a study to evaluate water consumption and water productivity, as well as the effects on water conservation and groundwater use of the conversion of collective projects to drip irrigation, within the modernized irrigated regions of the El Haouz perimeter.

Among the world’s most water-stressed countries, Morocco is experiencing considerable fluctuations in water availability over space and time. This predicament is exacerbated by the impacts of climate change, resulting in declining rainfall and reduced runoff, and escalating demand, resulting in groundwater depletion and alarming degradation of water resources. Notably, a substantial portion of the country’s water resources is consumed by irrigated agriculture. To combat water scarcity in agriculture, Morocco has instituted the National Program of Water Savings in Irrigation. This program aims to enhance the efficient use of water in irrigation, primarily by modernizing irrigation on approximately 550,000 hectares, 220,000 of which are covered by large-scale irrigation plans.

The overarching goal is to provide a water service that aligns with the standards of drip irrigation and other more efficient irrigation technologies.

The Global Water Security and Sanitation Partnership, (GWSP), financed a study to evaluate water consumption and water productivity, as well as the effects on water conservation and groundwater use of the conversion of collective projects to drip irrigation, within the modernized irrigated regions of the El Haouz perimeter. This irrigation plan fell within the scope of areas designated for improvement under the $150 million World Bank financed Large-Scale Irrigation Modernization Project, an integral component of the broader National Program of Water Savings in Irrigation. The GWSP-funded study used remote sensing and satellite technologies to successfully gather and analyze data related to changes in biomass (as a proxy for productivity) and overall water consumption in the study area. In so doing, the climate resilient irrigation team conducting the study, established the correlation between evapotranspiration and biomass on the one hand and water use in agriculture on the other. Later, the initiative evaluated the volume of groundwater used for irrigation and its correlation with surface water allocated by the irrigation operator, thus building the country’s capacity to sustainably manage water resources and service delivery.

This GWSP-funded study strengthened dialogue with the Government of Morocco on the importance of water conservation policies. With GWSP’s support, the climate resilience irrigation team held a high-level policy dialogue on water use in Moroccan agriculture and developed a technical note to support policy engagement related to resilient and inclusive agrifood systems in the Maghreb. The key Moroccan counterparts, the Regional Office for Irrigation of El Haouz (operating under the Ministry of Agriculture) and the River Basin Agency of Tensift (under the Ministry of Equipment and Water), greatly benefited from adoption of the innovative monitoring technologies used in the study. The data, knowledge, and dialogues supported by GWSP also informed the development of water quotas, which the government will implement in tandem with technology upgrades. Furthermore, the study and dialogue informed two World Bank-financed projects. By December 2022, the Large-Scale Irrigation Modernization Project had benefited more than 9,000 farmers with improved water services and access to improved irrigation technologies covering an area of 20,700 hectares.

The World Bank–Morocco collaboration also provided significant insights for the $182 million Resilient and Sustainable Water in Agriculture (RESWAG) project, approved in FY22 on the basis of an analysis of water conservation technologies’ capacity to alleviate water scarcity in agriculture. This analysis provided a strong foundation for the establishment of observatories such as those proposed in the RESWAG project to measure the impacts of water conservation technologies in the long term. The project aims to enhance the governance of water in agriculture, improve the quality of irrigation services, and modernize on-farm irrigation technologies in areas suffering onerous water restrictions or served by overexploited aquifers.

By 2027, the project expects to provide 51,485 hectares with new or improved irrigation or drainage services and to reach more than 23,000 farmers with agricultural assets or services. Combined, these activities will help Moroccan water authorities and irrigator operators maintain water withdrawals at a sustainable level and cope with interannual variability.