The World Bank has approved a US$4 million grant for Morocco to expand climate-smart agriculture, strengthening the country’s efforts to protect food production against recurring droughts and climate shocks.
The funding, approved on Thursday by the World Bank’s Board of Directors, comes from the Livable Planet Fund and supplements a US$250 million package approved in December 2024 under Morocco’s Transforming Agri-food Systems Program.
The grant will focus on Morocco’s rainfed cereal sector, one of the most vulnerable segments of the country’s agricultural economy. It aims to ease demand-side constraints faced by small and medium-scale farmers, particularly rising production costs and limited access to modern inputs.
Around 1,200 farmers are expected to benefit across roughly 20,000 hectares through a digital e-voucher system that provides access to mechanisation services and climate-resilient seeds. The approach is designed to lower input costs while accelerating the adoption of conservation agriculture practices.
The programme supports a transition away from traditional farming methods towards climate-smart techniques that stabilise yields, improve soil and water management and reduce exposure to extreme weather events that have repeatedly disrupted Morocco’s harvests.
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Direct seeding mechanisation and the use of drought-tolerant cereal and legume varieties are central to the initiative. Farmers, including women and youth, are expected to gain improved access to finance and markets through aggregation mechanisms that strengthen their bargaining power and link them more efficiently to buyers.
Project implementation will include close monitoring of adoption rates, yield performance, income growth and climate mitigation outcomes. The World Bank will provide technical assistance for the design and rollout of the e-voucher platform, as well as impact evaluation support.
“By reinforcing the shift to climate-smart practices and piloting innovative, digitally enabled support for smallholders, this additional financing will help create green jobs in rural areas and strengthen national food security,” said Ahmadou Moustapha Ndiaye, World Bank division director for the Maghreb and Malta.
The programme reflects the One World Bank Group approach, combining support from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the International Finance Corporation. It also contributes to the AgriConnect initiative, which seeks to boost employment and value creation in cereal and legume value chains.
Morocco received US$1.77 billion in World Bank financing during the 2025 fiscal year, making it the eighth-largest borrower from the institution globally. The country accounted for 34 percent of IBRD approvals in the Middle East and North Africa region, underscoring its close partnership with the multilateral lender.
Successive droughts have exposed the fragility of Morocco’s rainfed cereal systems. The additional financing is intended to scale up conservation agriculture, improve market access and strengthen farmer capacity, helping to build a more resilient and sustainable agricultural sector.
Background to why the World Bank supports smart Agriculture in Morocco
Morocco’s agricultural sector has been repeatedly disrupted by drought over the past decade, underscoring the country’s high exposure to climate variability. Rainfed cereals, which account for the bulk of national grain production, are particularly vulnerable because they depend almost entirely on seasonal rainfall.
Since 2018, Morocco has experienced successive years of below-average precipitation, with some seasons ranking among the driest in decades. The prolonged drought between 2020 and 2023 significantly reduced cereal output, forced higher food imports and weighed on rural incomes, prompting government support measures for farmers and livestock producers.
In response, Moroccan authorities have stepped up investments in water management, including dam construction, desalination projects and more efficient irrigation systems. The government has also accelerated reforms to promote climate-resilient agriculture, encouraging conservation farming, drought-tolerant seeds and improved mechanisation to reduce reliance on rainfall and stabilise production.
