12 PERSPECTIVES ON BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS | VOL 42 | 2024 Moroccan agriculture, created the Polytechnic Pole of Higher Agricultural Education to organize these three institutions into a group (Ministry of Agriculture…, n.d.-a). The Polytechnic Pole’s mission statement includes “promoting innovation & entrepreneurship for value creation in [the] AgriTech sector” (School of Agriculture…, n.d.). Recently, Mohammed VI Polytechnic University launched an agriculture laboratory in partnership with the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab located at MIT in the US to research agricultural technologies designed to improve food security, profits, and productivity of smallholders. The laboratory will also work to lower barriers these farmers face in setting up and maintaining newer agricultural technologies (Rahhou, 2023). Agricultural vocational training plays an important role in farmer education. Morocco has 12 regional centers and 53 local establishments that comprise its vocational training system. The establishments are scattered throughout the country, focusing mainly on rural farming areas: plains, mountains, and oases. Between 2008 and 2019, there have been 65,000 graduates, with an annual accommodation capacity of 6700, studying either agricultural sciences or farm management. Students study 70 sectors at various levels (ranging from apprenticeship to specialized technician) and topics like rural hydraulics and irrigation, field crops, and agricultural mechanics (Ministry of Agriculture…, n.d.-a). These agencies and institutions are integral to disseminating new knowledge and technology to farmers. Extension offices and vocational training sites must work in collaboration with research and development (R&D) institutions, as they depend on each other to advance research and ensure that those advancements are placed in the hands of farmers. Digital technology in agriculture Since the 1990s, Morocco has advanced toward a digital society in all sectors, not only agriculture (Elhazziti et al., 2023). The 2009 Digital Morocco Plan set a goal of digitizing 50% of all administrative procedures and bills, connecting 20% of Morocco’s small and medium enterprises and establishing Morocco as a digital hub by 2020 (World Bank, 2019). The plan saw some success, aiding Morocco’s participation in many international agreements and propelling the country into digital relevancy. Following the Digital Morocco Plan, the country launched a series of initiatives to further its transition into a digital hub. As a result, Morocco has become a leader in Africa for digital development, currently ranking eighth in digital competitiveness among the Middle East and North Africa countries (Elhazziti et al., 2023). In the area of agriculture, digital technology holds promise. Digital technology can dramatically improve the efficiency of agriculture by complementing the personal care, knowledge, and attentiveness of traditional agriculture with the speed, ease, and scale of modern agriculture. In any agricultural field, although there is an inherent variability across individual plants, almost inevitably they are treated as though they are all “average.” This approach often leads to over- or under-applications of water, fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides (National Institute of Food and Agriculture, n.d.). Agtech can collect data to simplify decision-making, allowing for specific crop treatment and saving time and resources for farmers (Jabir & Falih, 2020). Utilization of these technologies has the potential to address issues that climate change places on agriculture and to grow food in an environmentally and economically sustainable manner. Maria Claudia Pachon, a senior digital development specialist, has stated that “[t]he shift to digital technologies will move the sector from resource-intensive agriculture toward precision farming, helping it respond as much to the demands of market competition as to the challenges of adapting to climate change” (World Bank, 2020). Applications of digital technology related to climate change in Morocco address areas like irrigation, pest and weed control, and fertilization. Irrigation is one of the most crucial applications of agtech in Morocco. Digital technology allows for precise and efficient irrigation, maximizing productivity of the water used and decreasing water consumption. The Internet of Things, which combines sensors, processing capability, and networking software, is an optimal technology for delivering water to crops (Villalba & Abd Elkader, 2020, p. 5). Sensors that measure soil moisture, humidity, and temperature dramatically enhance decision-making for irrigation. Such systems take into consideration real-time weather to determine exact water needs and to adjust irrigation schedules and amounts accordingly, keeping up with increasingly erratic weather patterns. As climate change progresses, crops become vulnerable to diseases, pests, and weeds. Climate change causes migration of species to ecosystems they previously did not occupy, introducing new diseases and invasive species to agricultural fields; thus, it is more crucial than ever to monitor and contain these threats. Sensor networks collect, com-
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