Moroccan Drought

It won’t rain. Their hopes for a rainy season have faded away. Crops have died and livestock are starving. Even if it rains now, it will not make much of a difference. The country of Morocco has been experiencing severe drought for several decades now. The drought has considerable negative impacts on the economy and people of Morocco in terms of crop production losses, reduction in GDP, and loss of livelihood. The drought has also demonstrated itself as a major obstacle for agriculture and food security in the country. Morocco, whose economy depends largely on agricultural production, is greatly threatened by the drought. Agriculture is Morocco’s main economic activity, contributing almost half to the country’s GDP. With several indications suggesting the drought is not close to an end, wouldn’t it be crucial for policymakers to take hold of the implications of the droughts, especially for the most vulnerable in society, such as the poor, small-scale farmers, and the poorer urban households?
In the article “Climate change, vulnerability and adaptability in North Africa with a focus on Morocco” (Janpeter, Korbinian, Elke, Jürgen, 2012), studied the environmental impacts of climate change to major economic and agricultural developments in North America. The article openly states that climate change will likely have the strongest effect on Morocco. The combination of decreasing supply and strong population growth aggravates the stressed water situation in the region (Janpeter, Korbinian, Elke, Jürgen, 2012). It continued to say that the agricultural sector of Morocco is extremely important for the country’s economy and particularly for the poor people. I have concluded from this article that Morocco’s past agriculture incentives are inadequate get around the effects of the drought. This article has provided more depth to the question I previously proposed about the policy’s being implicated for the drought. Compared to other sources of information used, these authors combine their research about the different North African Countries impacted by the looming climate change.
In this next article, “Weather Rick Management for Agriculture and Agri-Business in Developing Countries” (Hess, Richter, Stoppa 2012), goes into depth about life in developing countries in rural areas. Morocco’s economy depends heavily on weather conditions, and experience frequent hazardous weather, like drought. From this article, I have learned that the hazardous weather typically affects most of the households in Morocco. Because of the rural areas of Morocco, most of these households and companies are not able to deal with the weather shock. As a result, their ways to manage these weather risks are inefficient and furthermore result in negative implications for economic and social development. This article closely addressed my research question previously stated. With not being able to provide substantial care for the households and companies affected by the drought, policymakers should take hold of the situation and determine a solution. If this happens, the economy and social aspects of the country will later begin to develop.
Continuing in my research, I came upon an article analyzing the water supply in Morocco. In the article, “Drought and climate change in Morocco. Analysis of precipitation field and water supply” (Benassi, 2008), provided a series of studies that have shown clear changes in the climate, this including the extreme drought they are undergoing. It explained that in a thirty-year period, they saw a decline of about 15% in the annual average water supply (Benassi, 2008). Throughout those years they experienced some of their most severe droughts. It seems as though drought is a plague that has existed in Morocco since the beginning of the last century. The changing climate conditions mixed with the extreme weather events such as drought have left a negative effect on the water flow throughout the whole country. This constant trend will have a huge impact on agriculture and the economy as a whole.
In the final article researched, “Morocco’s Drought Threatens Economic Growth” (Achy, 2012), it goes into a more personal prospective of the drought. The article clearly addresses my research question by stating that Morocco’s government should introduce an agriculture policy acknowledging climate variations and water shortages a permanent, structural conditions (Achy, 2012). Because of the drought, Morocco’s economic growth has not exceeded in years. Moroccan farmers have adopted a number of strategies to cope with the drought. These strategies only depend on their levels of income, forcing the poorer families to sell their land during the drought years. This limits their productivity in the good seasons to come, in return forcing them into the cycle of poverty that leads to a number of other destructive things.
After my research, I have concluded that these policies must also include the interests of smaller farmers and companies into account. And after concluding my research on the Moroccan drought, I have become aware that there is not a lot of current analysis published on this topic. I did however, become aware that there is a constant agreement on a solution for the problem. If the government of Morocco is serious about increasing its economic growth, it should introduce a number of agricultural policies that acknowledge climate variations and a distinctive shortage in water.