International Journal of Environmental Studies

ISSN: 0020-7233 (Print) 1029-0400 (Online) Journal homepage: www.tandfonline.com/journals/genv20

Obstacles facing the diffusion of drip irrigation

technology in the Middle Atlas region of Morocco

Jack Kalpakian, Ahmed Legrouri, Fatima Ejekki, Khalid Doudou, Fouad

Berrada, Abdelkrim Ouardaoui & Driss Kettani

To cite this article: Jack Kalpakian, Ahmed Legrouri, Fatima Ejekki, Khalid Doudou, Fouad
Berrada, Abdelkrim Ouardaoui & Driss Kettani (2014) Obstacles facing the diffusion of
drip irrigation technology in the Middle Atlas region of Morocco, International Journal of
Environmental Studies, 71:1, 63-75, DOI: 10.1080/00207233.2014.881956

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/00207233.2014.881956

Published online: 30 Jan 2014.

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 International Journal of Environmental Studies, 2014
Vol. 71, No. 1, 63–75, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00207233.2014.881956

Obstacles facing the diffusion of drip irrigation

technology in the Middle Atlas region of Morocco
JACK KALPAKIAN*, AHMED LEGROURI, FATIMA EJEKKI, KHALID DOUDOU,
FOUAD BERRADA, ABDELKRIM OUARDAOUI AND DRISS KETTANI
Al Akhawayn University, Avenue Hassan II, Ifrane 53000, Morocco

Research was conducted by the author and an inter-disciplinary team at Al Akhawayn University,
Morocco, under a Canadian (IDRC) grant between 2009 and 2011. Using various methodologies,
including survey research, the team found several significant obstacles facing the diffusion of drip
irrigation technology in the Middle Atlas region of Morocco. These obstacles include lack of
access to capital, land titles that cannot be mortgaged, and a weak presence of the relevant bureau-
cracies at the farm level. The implications of these obstacles in terms of responding to climate
change and aquifer depletion are addressed as part of the paper.

Keywords: Sustainable; Development; Irrigation; Aquifer; Morocco; North Africa

1. Introduction

The Saïss Basin, which forms the upper reaches of the Sebou Basin (located in the
Middle Atlas region of Northern Morocco), is experiencing unsustainable levels of water
overexploitation, due to both long-term decrease in precipitation and increase in water
demand. Surface waters have been greatly reduced, and at current exploitation rates the
aquifer will be completely depleted within the next 25 years. Since agriculture accounts
for 92% of Morocco’s water consumption, it was the focus of our three-year action
research project in conjunction with the International Development Research Centre of
Canada. In the Saïss basin, the focus of this study, about 60% of the water is used for
agriculture.
This paper builds on and uses elements of reports submitted to the main funders of the
overall action research study, the Canadian International Development Research Centre
and the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development. The effort was
aimed at finding and encouraging adaptive responses to climate change at the local level.
Accordingly, the study included arranging interactions between the relevant stakeholders,
hosting training sessions, pilot projects, a survey, interviews, as well as collecting ethno-
graphic information. The team quickly discovered that the farmers know that there are
problems with aquifer depletion and climate change, as detailed below, and that they are
also aware that drip irrigation technology is the best method for meeting these problems.
Despite their knowledge, the farmers faced significant obstacles in implementing drip
irrigation as a solution.

*Corresponding author. Email: j.kalpakian@aui.ma

© 2014 Taylor & Francis

Published online 30 Jan 2014

64 J. Kalpakian et al.

This paper argues that the nature of the landholding system in the Saïss Basin, the
relative absence of a field presence by the relevant bureaucracies, and general poverty have
prevented them from implementing the necessary solutions. It is noteworthy that the state
is aware of these difficulties and has been trying with some success to solve the problems.
This paper is divided into six sections. The first outlines the problems that are reducing
the water supply. The second deals with the methodology used to assess what the farmers
in the region know. The third presents some of the findings in terms of the farmers’ KAP.
The fourth section concerns the problems that the farmers are facing in terms of their rela-
tive inability to harness drip irrigation. These problems include landholding patterns and
types as well as the relative absence of the Sebou Basin Hydraulic Agency (ABHS) at the
field level. The final section includes some reflections about the future of drip irrigation
technology in the region and how to diffuse it.

2. Climate change and aquifer depletion

The policy position of the Moroccan State Secretariat in Charge of Water and Environment
is that climate change is negatively influencing the replenishment of aquifers throughout
the country. In the Sebou basin, the aquifers may have lost as much as a quarter of their
water during the last 25 years [1]. Current hydrological models predict that without a sub-
stantial change in the use of water or increase in precipitation and recharge, the Saïss aqui-
fer in Eastern Morocco will be completely dry within 25 years, and the Saïss Basin will
become a high desert plateau. If this were to happen there would be severe social and eco-
nomic consequences, especially for those most vulnerable to changes in access to and
availability of water, such as contract herders and women. If the aquifer is fully depleted,
the agricultural sector in the Saïss Basin will be lost. This would result in the disappear-
ance of 3 million workdays a year in the region and contribute to increased unemployment
and social instability. The region would also lose the 150 million Euros generated in gross
revenues a year (Ahmed Belkheiri, then Director, Sebou Basin Agency, July 2008,
personal communication). Thus, the process of aquifer depletion must be reversed if
devastating socio-economic problems are to be avoided.
Out of an annual water endowment of about 20 recoverable cubic kilometres of rainwa-
ter and surfacing groundwater, Moroccans use about 13.7 cubic kilometres of water per
year [2]. Although this may appear to be sustainable at the overall level, at the local level
it is not, when increasing groundwater abstractions are taken into consideration. Currently,
one of the critical sources of water for Moroccans is the Sebou water basin, which sup-
ports 6.2 million people or about one-fifth of Morocco’s population. The region is part of
the country’s demographic and hydrological core, accounting for about one third of the
national annual water endowment; including three-quarters of the unused surplus. Thus,
the Sebou Basin is also important to many Moroccans living outside it, and its ecological
decline has already influenced the country as a whole [3].
The Saïss basin, located in the upper eastern reaches of greater Sebou basin, represents
11% of Morocco’s annual water endowment, providing water for 1.8 million people, and
contains about a quarter of Morocco’s arable land. The basin’s surface covers over 2200
square km and includes about 8000 commercial and subsistence farms. These farms repre-
sent about 37,000 ha of irrigated land, of which the largest proportion, 45%, is irrigated by
pumped water, 32% is irrigated by surface water and about 22% is drip irrigated. The
Saïss aquifer has been experiencing increasingly unsustainable levels of exploitation since
 Diffusion of drip irrigation technology in the Middle Atlas region of Morocco 65

1980. Coupled with decreasing precipitation, increased levels of abstraction have led to the
disappearance of some small rivers and springs and have significantly reduced flows in the
remaining rivers and springs. While subjected to large pumped withdrawals, the aquifer
receives only limited seasonal recharge, making it susceptible to rapid depletion. The
balance, as indicated by the data below, is a net loss of 100 Mm3/year.

 Recharge (in Mm3/year): 241.5.

 Withdrawal (in Mm3/year): Agriculture (160), Potable Water (100), Rivers and
Springs (81.5) = 341.5.

Since 1970, the overall output of water declined from 24 cubic m/s to 15 cubic m/s, or
by about 45%. Additionally, the surface water table has declined by 70 m over the past 27
years in Hajj Kaddour, a measuring point in the Saïss basin. Moreover, an increase in pol-
lution levels due to economic and population growth makes many water sources unusable
[4]. The overall level of recharge in the Saïss Basin has been decreasing over the last 30
years as a result of increasing average temperature and a fall in the level of precipitation.
Data from Ifrane, located within the Saïss basin, one of the wettest and coolest places in
the country, indicates a strong relationship between climate change and water shortfalls.
According to the National Metrological Directorate (DMN), over the last 40 years the aver-
age temperature in Ifrane rose by one degree Celsius. This increase in temperature has
been accompanied by a decline of about 33% in precipitation. The overall decline in the
levels of rain and snowfall has led to a decline in surface water flow. This in turn has led
more and more farmers to dig deeper for water. Consequently, the number of wells has
gone up from a handful to about 9000 during the last 30 years. Digging wells is expensive
and extracting water costs significant amounts of money in terms of the cost of diesel fuel
required, which is not as heavily subsidized in Morocco as in other countries; at about 9
Dirhams a litre, diesel fuel is a luxury that few small farmers can afford.
Although Morocco has benefited from economic growth in many ways, such as indus-
trial development and subsequent job creation, it brings with it numerous environmental
and social costs. For example, industrial growth has led to increased pollution throughout
the country and particularly in the Sebou basin. The Saïss Basin is beginning to display
the same pattern observed in the Sebou Basin downstream from Fez where chromium lev-
els ranged between 10 and 100 times the internationally acceptable levels in the mid-
1990s. The lower ranges of the Sebou Basin have been hard hit with industrial effluents
and urban waste, rendering the river water dangerous for human and agricultural use,
including irrigation. This is causing farmers and others to rely even more heavily on the
Saïss aquifer for water. The current inability to use all the water available downstream
from the Saïss Basin for large-scale commercial agribusiness or small-scale farming has
had significant welfare effects throughout the country. Farmers are forced to use less water
leading to a reduction in agricultural production and, hence, an increase in food prices,
which particularly hurts the poorest populations. This is both because they have less pur-
chasing power, and because they are unable to access natural water supplies for themselves
and their herds. The reduced capacity to farm and herd has reduced the quality of public
health and has encouraged rural-urban migration, thus putting more pressure on urban
areas to provide access to resources and employment, particularly among rural men. Urban
growth further depletes water supplies, leaving less for agricultural use [3].
General population growth has also contributed to a dramatic increase in water demand.
Morocco’s population has been growing at an extremely high rate over the last 50 years
66 J. Kalpakian et al.

and is anticipated to continue climbing exponentially for the next 50 years. For example,
in 1950 the population of Morocco was 8.75 million. By 2006, the population had risen to
32 million, representing a nearly 400% increase. It is anticipated to grow another 15 mil-
lion, to 47 million, by 2050. As a result of this growth, it is estimated that by 2020, the
country’s per-person water supply will be less than half of the current critical supply per
person [5].

3. KAP survey methodology

As stated above, we have conducted a survey of the farming practices in the Saïss Basin
using a random sample of 519 farmers among the 5190 currently active in the region,
according to a list provided by the local councils and the DPAs in the two areas within the
Saïss Basin where our project is concentrated. We have chosen 10% because the total
number of farmers is so large, given the time frame for the project. We assigned numbers
to each farmer’s name and put them in a basket then pulled 500 names out randomly;
these became our sample for the survey. The Ministry of Interior provided the list of farm-
ers in the region. The list included everyone in the region who listed his or her occupation
as a ‘farmer’ on his or her national identity card. We took measures to ensure that there
was little influence from the Provincial Departments of Agriculture (DPA) on the data. We
sent our teams to the field in pairs. One data gatherer always interviewed the randomly
selected farmer while the other talked with the DPA worker and interviewed him on the
issues concerning the farmer or the area – at a distance. The DPA employees allowed our
research team to access the field, and we discussed the need to allow farmers their space
to address our concerns effectively. The farmers were able to express their perspective in a
manner that allowed them room to criticize those in power and authority. We also used this
time to extensively interview DPA workers about their work and about the obstacles farm-
ers face. In general, we never sent fewer than two researchers to the field, one to interview
the farmers and at least one more researcher to interview the DPA worker.
The survey form was validated in a workshop in 2009 that brought together the DPA,
the ABHS and a number of independent outside researchers on agriculture in Morocco.
We ran an earlier version of the data-gathering instrument in a neighbouring community
called Tizgut. The general survey data were gathered in cooperation with the DPA, relying
on quantitative methods. Our explanatory variables included:

 Water use by month.

 Land size.
 The number of family members who directly participate in farming.
 Farm output by hectare in Dirhams and quantities.
 Type of irrigation used and water saving techniques, if any.
 Number of wells and depth.
 Farmers’ level of education.
 Number of farm employees and their educational level.
 Cooperative or not: does the farmer have access to either commercial or social
credit.
 Demographic variables such as the age of the primary farmer, gender, and age.
 Views about the sources of water and conservation.
 Water as a value in terms of the farmer’s religious and cultural outlook.
 Diffusion of drip irrigation technology in the Middle Atlas region of Morocco 67

 Knowledge of DSM, climate change, and aquifer depletion.

 Other variables should participatory approaches suggest them.

The KAP survey took an inventory of the KAP of the farmers in the region with regard
to water use and water demand management. The survey was conducted over a year,
2010–2011, within a participatory framework where farmers, both large and small, actively
worked with the researchers to express their concerns, needs and demands, as well as share
examples of best practices with each other, the ABHS and other partners. The data were
gathered in the vernacular form of Arabic used in Morocco for trade (Darija). In some
instances, we had to use a mixture of Tamazight and Darija, and fortunately our two
research assistants, Fatima Ejekki and Khalid Doudou, were capable of communicating in
Tamazight, despite their native fluency in forms different from the one used in the region.
A summary of the results along with the instruments used to gather the required data can
be found attached to this document.

4. Findings: KAP survey results confirmed by the pilot projects

4.1. Summary of main survey results
The KAP survey farmers believe that the problem of water supplies is caused by over-
exploitation of the aquifer and that climate change is solvable. They believe that they
could match their current yields and exceed them while using less water should they be
able to access drip irrigation technology. They have other motives for requesting drip irri-
gation technology, including labour and input costs. The data indicate that the farming
community is aware of the problem of declining water resources and climate change
(understood as drought and the decline of the water table) and has been articulating its
needs to the Ministry of Interior through the workshops and other events organized by this
project; community representatives, such as tribal elders were included in all our meetings
and workshops. It may be possible to reduce the damage from climate change, in part
through increasing the use of drip irrigation from the current 6% reported by the farmers
to being the norm rather than the exception. For that reason, we embarked on the pilot
projects. The pilot projects show that it is possible to reduce water use significantly, con-
firming the views of the farmers as indicated in the KAP survey. There is widespread
understanding in the region that the climate is changing and that there are reduced water
supplies in the basin. The farmers noted that fissane (336 h blocks of canal water) are pro-
ducing about 15–18 l/s instead of the 20–22 l/s. They also indicated that the depth of the
wells used to be 40 m, but now is commonly 120 m. No wells existed before 1970 and
there were more than 9000 wells by 2007 in the Saïss Basin.

4.2. Many farmers are aware of the problem

The survey included a question about the farmers’ long-term views on the future availabil-
ity of water. About half the farmers responded that they anticipate having less water in the
future than at present. There is only a 4% shift from the random 50–50 outcomes, suggest-
ing that the relationship is modest if it exists at all. It is clear that most farmers are either
pessimistic or uncertain about future water supplies, with only 7% expecting things to
remain as they are. (tables 1–6).
When asked about the causes behind the decline of water supplies, the farmers exhibited
some sharp divisions of opinion. Again, a slight majority appears to be aware of the broad
68 J. Kalpakian et al.

causes of the problem, if one were to take drought as a representative of climate change,
broadly speaking. The answers to questions relating to well depth suggest that some of the
farmers felt a need to avoid discussing wells as a cause of the decline of the water supply
from the aquifer. About 42% of all farmers in the region report having a well, but the real
percentage may be somewhat higher. Nevertheless, an overwhelming majority of those
owning a well (84%) were willing to state that they did not have the authorization for it.
When asked further about the well authorization process, the farmers indicated that they
are not aware of the paperwork, procedures, and laws governing the process. Most of them
did not report knowing anything about the ABHS, which is supposed to be the agency that
grants authorization for well use. The full implications of this will be discussed in the sec-
tion below on the field presence of the appointed officials. It is safe to say that a signifi-
cant number of farmers clearly understand that there is a relationship between changes in
the climate, well digging and reduced water supplies. And more importantly, more than
half of them were willing to tell researchers about it. The farmers in the basin fear the rise
of metering and fees on aquifer waters, and this came through in our first encounter with
the farmers of the Aïn Cheggag area of the basin. While the farmers may not understand
the causes of the problem, they are very clear about the solution to the declining water
supplies.

4.3. A solid and clear preference for drip irrigation

Of the various solutions to the problem of water supply management, the region’s farming
community clearly prefers drip irrigation as a primary solution. When interviewed about
the reasons for this, farmers working on the two pilot projects indicated that the drip irri-
gation technology not only saves water and fuel, it also saves significant amounts of
labour. For example, potatoes irrigated by drip irrigation need about half the worker-hours
needed for conventionally irrigated potatoes. Consequently, drip irrigation appears to be a
way for farmers to save money broadly and not only on water. If we combine the two
responses that include drip irrigation, it is clear that about 83% of the farmers firmly
believe that drip irrigation is the best method of conserving water resources.

4.4. Does drip irrigation work for farmers?

Of course, beliefs are not a substitute for knowledge. A second phase of our research pro-
ject included two pilot projects that studied the impact of installing drip irrigation in two
small local farms. The two farmers in question were selected by the local leadership on
the basis of whether they were able to follow up on the project as well as whether they
were willing to share experiences with their neighbours. Since each system cost about
30,000 Moroccan Dirhams (MAD) to install, it is clear that drip irrigation systems could
pay back their cost within two to three years even at the small scale of our pilot projects.

4.5. Bitit pilot project

In Bitit, the farmer owns one hectare of land and rents about 4–5 additional ha. He also
owns or controls rights to about 10 hours (two hours owned and eight rented) of canal
water which he receives every 4 days and 18 h. To manage his resources better, he used a
100 cubic m water tank. The tank stores water, which can be used more frequently than
 Diffusion of drip irrigation technology in the Middle Atlas region of Morocco 69

the 5-day waiting period permits. Should he remain using furrow inundation, his water
resources would be enough for irrigating only half a hectare. He relies on onions, potatoes,
animal feed, and olive trees. After our project installed the drip irrigation system, he added
vegetables for the market. The water supply is now sufficient to irrigate the single owned
hectare every 2.5 days instead of every 5 days. The process takes less labour and produces
a wider variety of higher quality vegetables.

4.6. Aïn Cheggag pilot project

The farmer owns 3.5 hectares of land. He relies on water from a 162 m unauthorized well.
As a part of the project, the status of the well was regularized. He grows animal feed, veg-
etables for his family, and olives for both household use and sale. The drip irrigation sys-
tem installed by the project covers about four-fifths of a hectare. On this land, he had
about 170 trees. Using furrow inundation, he needed 32 h of irrigation every 20 days, with
each tree receiving 300 l during the olive growing season. After installing drip irrigation,
the farmer doubled the number of his trees and began irrigating them intensively; giving
the olive trees about 800 l per tree every 20 days, so unfortunately no water savings were
realized. Nevertheless, he did achieve some significant benefits from drip irrigation. The
case of Aïn Cheggag strongly suggests that future projects in the region must include some
means of encouraging the use of drip irrigation as a method of reducing water use, as in
Bitit.

4.7. What is the status of drip irrigation in the region?

Despite its obvious success with the farmers and despite the diffusion of the knowledge
related to drip irrigation, the region remains largely devoid of drip irrigation systems.
Because most of the farming in the area is partly subsistence, the expectation that market
economics can alone induce change to conserve water is simply unrealistic. The farmers
obviously know about the benefits of drip irrigation, and as the Bitit pilot project showed,
it can lead to better use of water, but at present the diffusion of the actual technology
remains at rather low levels in the Saïss Basin. Only about 10.2% of the farmers of the
region use drip irrigation in whole or in part. The low level of diffusion of the technology
despite the widespread diffusion of the knowledge of its benefits suggests that policy-mak-
ing should focus on the set of obstacles that the farmers face in acquiring, installing and
using drip irrigation technology.

5. The obstacles

Diversity in the forms of private property is one of the main perceived obstacles farmers
face in the region. Unlike other contexts where land can either be owned or leased, the sit-
uation in Morocco is far more complex. In the past, certain forms of ownership disquali-
fied farmers from being able to mortgage their property to install improvements like drip
irrigation systems. There are also many forms of landholding ranging from melk, which is
the same as private property ownership in market economies, to ‘urfi, which represents
informal, unregistered but communally recognized use-rights to a small plot used for sub-
sistence agriculture. While standard private property holdings are widespread, the area also
includes a significant number of people who hold tribal titles, particularly in the Aïn
70 J. Kalpakian et al.

Cheggag region, where agricultural activities are conducted by the Aït Ayyach tribe under
a communal, tribal or sulaliya title. Even where melk forms of landholding dominate, as in
Bitit, the tribes remain an abiding reality. Formerly, it was not possible for persons holding
tribal title to mortgage their land, because the overall title is communal and subject to tri-
bal customary law. Although representatives of the Moroccan agricultural banking sector
have assured local farmers that the lending rules have changed, the perception that sulaliya
cannot be mortgaged persists. In addition, only about a third of the farmers in our sample
(179 out 519) own un-separated land. The rest own land in separated plots, which dramati-
cally increases the cost of installing drip irrigation systems. Table 7 shows the distribution
of the various kinds of land holding in the area.
On 29 September 2011, our action research project arranged for a meeting between an
official representative of a leading Moroccan agricultural bank and a group of farmers and
officials. That event helped clarify the new rules that provide persons with legitimate use
rights access to capital, the only caveat being that the rights need to be documented
officially. While this represented a huge step forward, it also leaft a gap as well. What are
persons with unregistered title to do? Furthermore, a significant number of farmers

Table 1. Awareness of the potential for future problems.

Will water resources be severely affected in the coming 25 years? Frequency Percent

No 37 7.1
Yes 280 53.9
I do not know 202 38.9
Total 519 100.0

Table 2. The cause of the problem.

Reason for the decrease of water supplies Frequency Percent

Unauthorized wells 38 8.1

Drought periods 153 31.7
Drought and unauthorized wells 67 13.9
Other 10 2.1
Don’t know 213 44.2
Total 482 100.0

Table 3. Preferred methods to achieve water economy.

Ways to save water used in agriculture Frequency Percent

Use drip irrigation 385 74.2

Use surface waters only 8 1.5
Use basins to collect water 16 3.1
Use hill dams to collect rain 24 4.6
Use furrow inundation 12 2.4
Do not know 12 2.4
Other 14 2.7
Drip irrigation with basins 26 8.9
Build canals 2 0.4
Total 519 100.0
 Diffusion of drip irrigation technology in the Middle Atlas region of Morocco 71

Table 4. Bitit pilot project: farmer’s estimates (March 2011–December 2011).

Before drip irrigation After drip irrigation

(for the single hectare) (for the single hectare) Savings using drip irrigation

Gasoline 120 l/month; 1250 MAD/ 40 l/month; 450 MAD/ 800 MAD/month; 9600 MAD/year
month month
Labour 20 employees at 80 MAD 5 employees at 80 MAD 1600 MAD/season is saved (at least
each per day for two days; each for four days; total two agricultural seasons per year,
total wages 3200 MAD/ payment is 1600 MAD/ depending on the farmer); 3200 MAD/
season season year
Fertilizers 1500 MAD/season 1000 MAD/season 500 MAD/season; 1000 MAD/year
Revenue Base Doubles About 14,000 a year/depends on prices

Table 5. Aïn Cheggag pilot project: farmer’s estimates (March 2011–December 2011).
Before drip Irrigation After drip Irrigation Savings using
(for the 0.8 hectares olives) (for the 0.8 hectares olives) drip irrigation

Butane 30 bottles; 1140 MAD 6 bottles; 228 MAD 912 MAD/year

Labour 10 employees at 100 MAD each; 2 employees at 100 MAD each; total 800 MAD/ year
(season) total wages 1000 MAD wages 200 MAD/season
Fertilizers Uses own cows’ manure No change No change
Increased 2 tons at 4000 MAD each 4 tons at 4000 MAD each About 10,000
Revenue MAD/year

Table 6. Forms of irrigation in the region.

Irrigation type Frequency Percent

Furrow inundation 426 82.1

Drip irrigation 30 5.8
Furrow inundation and drip irrigation 28 5.4
Rain fed 35 6.7
Total 519 100.0

Table 7. Type of landholding.

Type of land Frequency Percent

Private 216 41.6

Religious foundation 1 0.2
Communal or tribal 195 37.6
Rented 8 1.5
Partnership 26 5.0
Other 2 0.4
Private and communal 33 6.4
Private and rented 9 1.7
Cooperative 29 5.6
Total 519 100.0

probably could not afford the loans to set up their drip irrigation systems. The new regula-
tions and subsidies, derived from the state’s Maroc Vert plan, require literacy and knowl-
edge of paperwork and procedures, which our survey showed the farmers lacked. Some
72 J. Kalpakian et al.

Table 8. Reasons for choosing your irrigation system.

Reasons for choosing irrigation type Frequency Percent

Types of crops grown 6 1.2

Paper work for drip irrigation complex 68 13.1
I know about drip irrigation 13 2.5
I do not have money for drip irrigation 250 48.2
Subsidies for drip irrigation complex 16 3.1
Cannot use drip because land is separated 10 1.9
Renting or in partnership, can’t install drip 18 3.5
Furrow inundation water not suitable for drip 42 8.1
I use drip for water savings 52 10.0
I do not have enough water 10 1.9
I use rain water 28 5.4
Other 6 1.2
Total 519 100.0

Table 9. What is the role of the ABHS?

The role Frequency Percent

No role 28 5.4
Administrative papers 3 0.6
Authorizing wells 164 31.6
I do not know 168 32.4
I do not know of the agency 154 29.7
Other 2 0.4
Total 519 100.0

Table 10. What do you want from the Moroccan state?

What do you want from the Moroccan state? Frequency Percent

Financial support (for drip irrigation and other activities) 217 41.8
Grants of aid to small farmers 48 9.2
Financial support along with administrative facilitation of the grants 38 7.3
Increasing the amounts granted 14 2.7
Facilitation of the administrative processes 33 6.4
Subsidized fertilizers and pesticides 45 8.7
Maintaining the Bitit canal 17 3.3
Building recharge dams in the hills 13 2.5
Soil experiments 2 0.4
Supplying irrigation water 3 0.6
Marketing strategies 10 1.9
Awareness campaigns 21 4.0
Land consolidation 6 1.2
Other 22 4.2
I do not know 7 1.3
I do not want the state’s help 23 4.4
Total 519 100.0

private firms that sell drip irrigation systems offer farmers help with the paperwork to
access loans and subsidies, but they charge for this service and many farmers fear
negotiating from a position of weakness with companies that are obviously seeking a
profit. (tables 8–10).
 Diffusion of drip irrigation technology in the Middle Atlas region of Morocco 73

5.1. The Labyrinth

We asked the farmers why they used the irrigation system they do and, the question was
quickly interpreted by them to mean, ‘Why don’t you use drip irrigation?’ despite our best
effort to leave the question open. They took advantage of the survey to express their frus-
tration at not being able to implement a system that would enable them to use water more
effectively and to earn more money. The most striking numbers of answers concerned the
poverty the farmers found themselves in and their difficulties accessing the subsidies and
credit schemes that the state set up. They often cannot understand the processes needed to
procure government help, especially if they lacked an education or were illiterate. Literate
farmers, on the other hand, even those with a high school education or an academic degree
in a totally unrelated field such as law, often were able to access the help that was avail-
able. While self-reliant, independent and entrepreneurial, the Middle Atlas farmer faces a
labyrinth of poverty, obscure bureaucracy and a general lack of information about what is
available and how to access it. The most common reason (48%) for not being able to
install drip irrigation was the lack of money. An additional number (16%) cited the com-
plexity of the paperwork and the subsidies system. Land separation and renting prevented
about 5.4% from accessing drip irrigation. Only a small group (8.1%) actively preferred
furrow inundation to drip irrigation, due to the kind of water to which they had access. A
third group relies on rainwater (5.4%), and these are usually the poorest farmers in our
sample, so it is likely they cannot access drip irrigation either. Coincidently, we encoun-
tered drip irrigation systems designed for rain-based farmers that use water gathered from
cisterns in the Agadir region during our project, so it may be possible to introduce drip
irrigation to rain-based farmers as well.
Normally, one way out of the confusion would be the presence of a relatively trusted
government agency, such as an extension office, that could help guide the farmers in their
quest for funds to implement drip irrigation. The question of drip irrigation unfortunately
falls between two agencies with different tasks. The ABHS is charged with maintaining
the water endowment of the region and the DPA is charged with ensuring that the farmers
have access to information about seeds, pesticides and the best practices. For the first
agency, farming is simply an activity to regulate. For the second agency, water is just
another input. Neither agency has to promote the subsidies and loan supports offered by
the state under the Maroc Vert programme; they are administered through the agricultural
banks, which also lack a field presence. With these competing and incompatible views, the
walls of the labyrinth get taller. The ABHS is almost totally absent from the field to the
extent that most farmers simply do not know about its jurisdiction over well-digging and
pumping permits, and about a third had not even heard of it.

5.2. What do the farmers want?

Simply, the farmers want the government to help them. Over 75% of the farmers appealed
for some form of government support. And an additional 12.7% sought less tangible sup-
port such as infrastructure and know-how. A very tiny minority asked that the government
consider consolidating landholdings and another small group considered the government’s
appropriate role to be in providing information. Another very small community did not
want any help from the government. The responses related to drip irrigation suggest that
subsidizing such systems can easily increase the productivity of water, thereby reducing
the pressure on the aquifer and building adaptability in the face of climate change, while
74 J. Kalpakian et al.

at the same time being very politically popular. To some extent, the farmers’ responses are
classical examples of rent seeking, but at the same time, they are very unlikely to stop
abstracting water. If their use of water is not made sustainable, they will not be the sole
victims of the resulting ecological problems. In addition, it is arguable that they can be
persuaded by negotiation to accept metering in return for drip irrigation systems. In some
ways, the data also reflect the relatively unobtrusive nature of the state in rural Morocco.
Pre-colonial arrangements between the state (as represented by the monarchy) and local
communities and tribes are still honoured despite their lack of constitutional standing. But
as times and economics change, people are expecting the state to be more present, active
and concerned with their livelihoods. Improving outputs would help everyone, and drip
irrigation is a good development which would not burden the farmers. To avoid what took
place in the second pilot project, there would need to be some mechanism for monitoring
water abstraction, perhaps with a tranche that provides farmers with a quota of free water
followed by tranches of increasing price. Given discussions that took place early in this
project, such an approach would need to be carefully negotiated.

6. Concluding reflections

Drip irrigation is a valuable tool that can help the local population adapt to climate change
while at the same time conserving and saving the aquifer. The farmers recognize its effec-
tiveness for several reasons, including its potential to reduce their labour and fuel costs
while at the same time increasing their output significantly. There are risks however, and
these include the temptation to expand water abstraction with drip irrigation to achieve
even greater crop yields, as the second pilot project demonstrates. The technology has not
been diffused through the region, because a significant minority of the farmers are simply
too poor to afford it and have not been informed about their options in securing govern-
ment funding. The questions that need to be faced before drip irrigation can solve the twin
challenges of climate change and aquifer depletion must be centred on both the farmers
and the bureaucracies set up to help them:

 To what extent can the banks, the ABHS, and the DPAs be induced to work together
on drip irrigation and related issues?
 To what extent should the state subsidize drip irrigation? There is a clear risk of
moral hazard with its expansion under circumstances where water remains unmetred.
 How can the banks and the ABHS establish and maintain a field presence that
allows the farmers to understand their role, their requirements and their policies
while at the same time being able to access them on participatory terms?
 At which point should the water consumption in the cities of Fez and Meknes be
brought into the equation with the use of treated sewage water for agricultural
purposes?
 Should private recharge dams be allowed? If so, under what conditions and
regulations. There is significant potential for run-off water, particularly in
conjunction with drip irrigation.

There are solutions to the problem of climate change in terms of adaptive responses by
even the most vulnerable populations. The farmers who participated in our study are well
aware of one of the main tools available, and are eager to have it. The tool has not yet
 Diffusion of drip irrigation technology in the Middle Atlas region of Morocco 75

diffused because of the challenges posed by local circumstances. We hope that our project
has induced a conversation among local farmers, bureaucrats and officials over the future
and what to do about water in the context of a changing environment and declining
aquifers.

Acknowledgements

The authors thank the International Development Research Centre, Canada (IDRC) and DFID (UK)
for funding this project (Project ID: 105439) through the Climate Change Adaptation in Africa
Program. This paper builds on the team’s earlier work. The authors would also like to thank
Ms. Ann-Marie Quinn for helping edit this paper, the anonymous reviewer and the Editor. An earlier
version of this paper was presented at ISA 2013, San Francisco, CA, April 2013.

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