10 PERSPECTIVES ON BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS | VOL 42 | 2024 Agtech: The future of Moroccan agriculture Emily Michnowski Morocco’s agricultural sector is fundamental to the country’s well-being yet faces increasing stress from climate change. Digital technologies for agricultural applications, referred to as agtech, are a pathway to climate-resilient agriculture, allowing for greater precision in farming. The transition to agtech is particularly challenging on small farms. Wider implementation of agtech in Morocco will require targeted government investment and cooperative programming among groups of large and small farms. Introduction Agtech, sometimes referred to as Agriculture 4.0, entails the digitalization of agricultural practices to increase productivity, minimize resource input, and adapt to climate change (El Moutaouakil et al., 2022). Morocco currently faces problems of climate change and water scarcity to which digital agriculture presents an attractive response, but feasibility of digital technology in Morocco, where farming plays a vital role in the economy and collective identity, remains a question. This article describes the agricultural applications of digital technology, addresses its current accessibility and challenges to broader implementation in Morocco, and concludes with recommendations for its widespread adoption in Morocco. Background Morocco is experiencing disproportionate effects of climate change. Although the global elevation in average temperature per decade has been 0.15°C, Morocco has seen a rise of 0.5°C each decade since 1970. With these temperatures come environmental concerns, including erratic weather patterns, declines in biodiversity, rising sea levels, and greater disease in plants and animals, all of which are detrimental to agriculture. Specifically, climate change is causing Morocco to experience decreased precipitation, putting the country in a precarious situation regarding water scarcity. By 2100, annual precipitation in Morocco is anticipated to decline by 10% to 40% (World Bank, 2019). Drought has had an impact on agricultural production in four of the past five years (Food and Agriculture Organization, 2023, July 26). In 2022, Morocco experienced the largest decrease in agricultural production in Africa, with a cereal output 60% below its five-year average as a result of drought conditions (Food and Agriculture Organization, 2023, March 6). A significant portion of Morocco’s agriculture, specifically in the southern regions, occurs in oases, which suffer intense impacts from climate change. Moroccan oases are projected to have a rise in average temperature of 2.2°C between 2020 and 2050, well above the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warning of a 2°C increase limit (Adraoui & Jaafar, 2023). With these oases continuing to be hubs of civilization in the desert, their water demands will grow alongside their populations, directly conflicting with decreasing precipitation and more frequent drought, creating stress on agriculture in these crucial microclimates. Morocco is classified as a water-scarce country and is predicted to reach the status of “absolute water scarcity” by 2030, meaning the country will have access to less than 500 cubic meters of water per person per year. Morocco’s Economic, Social, and Environmental Council projects that the country will lose 80% of its usable water resources by 2045 (Hill & Pimentel, 2022). Agriculture in Morocco accounts for 86% of the country’s water usage (El Hachimi, et al., 2021). Most of this consumption comes from irrigation activities. However, a significant portion of this water is wasted because of inefficient irrigation techniques and systems. In addition to general water loss is the issue of water contamination caused by agriculture. Underground aquifers contend with nitrate pollution from fertilizer runoff, which can lead to eutrophication in water bodies. Additionally, excess herbicide and pesticide runoff, which are health hazards, can leach into water supplies (Hill & Pimentel, 2022). doi:10.18275/pbe-v042-003
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