Strengthening Morocco’s food safety and quality with climate-smart investment

Morocco is strengthening its agrifood sector through a new initiative designed to boost climate resilience, enhance food safety and support small-scale producers.

With technical support from the FAO Investment Centre, the USD 250 million World Bank-financed Morocco Transforming Agri-food Systems Program aims to tackle key challenges in rainfed agriculture, climate risk management, food safety and market access. The project was approved on 19th December 2024 and will last for 5 years.

"This program represents a major investment in the future of Morocco’s agrifood sector. By integrating climate-smart practices and improving food safety and quality, we are supporting Morocco in developing a more resilient and competitive agrifood system," said Mohamed Manssouri, Director of the FAO Investment Centre.

The FAO Investment Centre played a key role during the design phase, providing technical expertise in food safety, value chain analysis and productive alliance set-up, and contributed to the ex-ante economic and financial analysis of the overall program, ensuring that investments maximize both environmental and economic benefits to ensure sustainability and impact.

Climate risk management for rainfed agriculture

Agriculture is a cornerstone of Morocco’s economy, contributing 16 percent of GDP and 19 percent of total exports, while employing 67 percent of the rural workforce. However, climate change has made the sector increasingly vulnerable, particularly in rainfed areas where droughts threaten productivity.

The program supports rainfed wheat and barley smallholder farmers in adopting climate-smart practices, including conservation agriculture, improved water and soil management and crop rotation with leguminous and fodder crops.

These measures will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, optimize water use and boost productivity. In total, 120 000 farmers, including 18 000 young people and 6 000 women, are expected to benefit.

Ensuring safe and nutritious food supplies for food security

While increasing productivity is key, food safety and quality are also central to Morocco’s agricultural transformation. Strengthening sanitary standards across 1200 food outlets will help protect domestic consumers while improving market confidence.

The program aims to improve food security and access to healthy diets – ensuring food is not just available but also safe, nutritious and affordable. This includes enhancing traceability systems and integrating stronger food safety measures into agrifood supply chains.

Reducing market risk through strengthened value chains

Small-scale farmers and cooperatives often face significant market risks, from price fluctuations to limited bargaining power.

To address these challenges, the program is scaling up Morocco’s Productive Alliances model, which connects small producers with buyers, financial institutions and technical support.

This approach not only strengthens market linkages but also reduces transaction costs and enhances farmers’ ability to secure fairer prices.

Working closely with Morocco’s Agency for Agricultural Development (ADA), FAO helped refine and scale up the model, drawing on lessons from a pilot initiative that successfully linked producer groups with commercial partners across multiple value chains, such as Cumin, Argan and others. The expanded program prioritizes women and youth-led alliances, fostering greater inclusion in sustainable agricultural markets.

Beyond individual cooperatives, the program fosters structured commercial agreements and tailored business plans that provide producers with access to capital, training and improved production methods.

Organic farming alone is expected to expand to 25 000 hectares, including crops such as olive oil, as well as high value fresh horticulture and fruits, further boosting key export market crops and ensuring premium prices.

By strengthening direct linkages with buyers and diversifying marketing arrangements, the initiative aims to enhance market stability and resilience. At the same time, its emphasis on climate-smart agriculture, organic production and short supply chains contributes to a more sustainable and resource-efficient food system in Morocco.

Food security and resilience for the future

The initiative will also expand agricultural insurance coverage, helping farmers manage financial risks from extreme weather. With a USD 5 million grant from the Livable Planet Fund, the program will provide targeted incentives to help smallholders transition to sustainable practices.

In total, over 1 million people – both farmers and consumers – are expected to benefit. The World Bank has highlighted the program’s potential to create green jobs, strengthen Morocco’s agrifood resilience and secure national food security.

"By supporting an ambitious scale-up of climate-smart agricultural practices, this innovative program will help Morocco secure green jobs in rural areas and enhance national food security, in line with the country's Generation Green 2020-2030 strategy," said Ahmadou Moustapha Ndiaye, Country Director for the Maghreb and Malta at the World Bank, in the World Bank launch press release.

With strategic investments in climate resilience, food safety and market access, Morocco is laying the foundation for a more stable, competitive and sustainable agrifood system – one that aims to protect farmers, consumers and the environment alike.