15 MARTINDALE CENTER FOR THE STUDY OF PRIVATE ENTERPRISE the World Bank are interested in investing in digital technology in Moroccan agriculture: because Morocco is setting itself up as a digital hub and with its agricultural sector hit so heavily by climate change, a perfect storm has been created for an agtech revolution. Challenges There are several challenges preventing a seamless transition to digital agriculture. Engineers, specifically sensor engineers, are needed for setting up and providing maintenance for digital technologies, skill sets not present in traditional agriculture. Additionally, engineers often hold graduate degrees, thus generally demanding higher wages. The agricultural sector, especially when considering smaller and remote farming regions, cannot necessarily afford to hire these engineers. There is also a lack of qualified engineers to fill those positions, with 25% of engineering graduates in Morocco going abroad for work (European Training Foundation, 2021). Another challenge for the digital transformation of Moroccan agriculture stems from limits on agricultural education and training, a result of lack of funding and ceilings on the number of farmers who can be assisted. The Hassan II Agronomic and Veterinary Institute can take in a limited number of engineering students each year and in fact had to cancel its vocational education and training track due to a lack of resources and teachers (European Training Foundation, 2021). Typically, educational institutions’ limited capacities have their greatest impact on vocational education and training programs, which are necessary to train farmers in using new technologies; this limitation is hindering agtech development. Adherence to tradition is another roadblock in moving to digital agriculture. It is natural to want to continue operating as in the past, especially when it comes to something as personal as one’s livelihood. When transitioning to digital technologies, emphasizing their economic benefits (higher yield and lower input and maintenance costs) can help convince farmers that the initial investment in agtech may be worthwhile. Small farmers tend to be focused on short-term goals, for instance, meeting production requirements each season, and may not want to implement newer technologies, as they are not often interested in larger markets. For this reason, even if there are subsidies to aid in the initial costs, smaller farmers may not want to change their methods (European Training Foundation, 2021). Ways to offset these roadblocks need to be implanted to ensure a successful agtech transition. Recommendations The path to implementation of agtech should rely heavily on education for farmers, particularly those in remote areas. To do this, aggregation has to be incentivized and encouraged to bring small farms together and find easier ways to relay information and resources to them. Additionally, specific efforts by the government can lower barriers (primarily cost) to agtech’s implementation. The government must also expand investment in R&D and in extension agencies to ensure effectiveness. There is already a trend toward aggregation in Morocco, and this should continue; it is realistically the only way small farms will be able to overcome their barriers and gain access to digital technologies. One example of government assistance for aggregation is establishing cooperatives (including for farmers), through the Office of Cooperation Development, under the Ministry of Tourism, Handicrafts, and Social and Solidarity Economy. Cooperatives help ensure that farmers can readily access the support and technological services of extension agencies (Qamar, 2013). Additionally, having larger farms belonging to aggregations along with smaller farms can aid in transferring technologies and information, with resources of the large farms helping to overcome initial barriers for the small ones. Aggregation will allow for not only the exchange of information but also the creation of a group that has sufficient purchasing power to acquire the agtech that small farms may not have on their own. The Moroccan government can play a significant role in how quickly and to what extent the agricultural sector makes a digital transformation. By subsidizing agtech, the government can lower the cost barrier, allowing digital technologies to become more common on farms, thus boosting agricultural production and thereby benefiting the economy overall. R&D investments, traditionally underfunded, must be expanded to allow for a full digital transformation of Moroccan agriculture. Investments can be sourced governmentally, privately, internationally, or, ideally, through a combination of all three. The technologies themselves can be further researched to be more effective and affordable. Additionally, investment can take the form of improving dissemination strategies. In combination, this will make digital technology more accessible in Morocco, especially for smaller and remote farms. With access to agtech, Morocco can improve working conditions for farmers. Tasks such as data collection and pesticide, herbicide, and fertilizer
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