MCC Compact to provide boost for rural farmers

A partnership between the Government of Morocco and the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) is focusing on improving rural incomes in Morocco by providing farmers and their families with secure rights to the land they have been farming for generations.

In Morocco, the agriculture sector, directly and indirectly, employs nearly 40 percent of Morocco’s workforce, with a similar proportion of the population living in rural areas. Yet, agriculture contributes only around 12 percent of Morocco’s GDP due, in part, to low agricultural productivity.

This low agricultural productivity is partly due to a complex legal framework for land in Morocco, which blends customary, Islamic and French protectorate-era laws. About 42 percent of land in Morocco is held in ethnic collectives, which are historically based on tribal origins. The land is administered in trust by the Ministry of Interior and individual members of the collective have usage rights. Much of this land is not as productive as it could be because farmers don’t have incentives to invest nor do they have access to financing to invest, since real title, that could otherwise be mortgaged to raise financing, is not in their hands. They also lack the right to buy or sell the land, and face restrictions in passing land on to their heirs.

MCC’s investment in Morocco will help rural farming families benefit from land titles. As a first step, the program provided technical assistance to the Government of Morocco to agree on a step-by-step process for melkisation that is more time and cost-effective and respects the highest international standards for protecting the rights of all people who are affected, including women and other vulnerable groups. The process ensures communities are involved and focuses on increasing women’s participation.

This program is a key part of the policy and institutional reforms supported by MCC’s $450 million compact with Morocco and is expected to benefit 31,000 farmers and their families.

Original source: MCC
Published on 06 August 2019