Water-smart farming decisions for a drying Morocco

The citrus and vegetable export basin around Agadir is drawing down its aquifer far faster than it recharges, after two decades of intensive irrigated farming.

The Al Massira dam, a key reservoir for the region, has fallen to historic lows after consecutive drought years, squeezing both cities and olive groves.

Known as Morocco's 'orchard', this region's olive and citrus belt depends heavily on the Bin El Ouidane dam, which has seen sharply reduced inflows.

The Doukkala plain's cereal and sugar beet farms compete with dense urban demand from Casablanca for the same shrinking surface water supplies.

The Gharb plain remains one of the more water-secure cereal and vegetable regions, but rainfall variability is rising year over year.

A major cereal and olive-growing plateau where irrigation districts are increasingly rationing surface water during summer months.

A semi-arid region bordering Algeria where citrus groves around Berkane rely on aquifers that are recharging far slower than they're pumped.

The pre-Saharan Drâa valley's historic date-palm oases are drying up as upstream dams and falling water tables starve traditional khettara irrigation systems.

The wettest region in Morocco, with the most reliable rainfall and reservoir levels, though rapid urban growth is starting to add pressure.

A hyper-arid Saharan region where almost all agriculture depends on fossil groundwater and desalination, with virtually no natural recharge.