Yasmine Fourari
Author
Your Majesty King Mohammed VI, Commander of the Faithful,
Morocco stands at a pivotal moment where the pursuit of economic growth is increasingly challenged by the sustainability of its natural resources, especially water. Scarcity now threatens both social cohesion and economic resilience.
As Mark Carney noted in 2015, we face a "tragedy of the horizon" (external link) where short-term political and economic decision-making obscures long-term risks. Unlike elected officials, Your Majesty is uniquely positioned to act on behalf of future generations. This is a rare and powerful opportunity to steer Morocco toward sufficiency, a bold vision rooted in resilience, justice, and sustainability.
Sufficiency does not mean austerity. It means ensuring that everyone has enough, while keeping consumption within planetary boundaries. Where efficiency tries to reduce resource use per unit of output (often leading to rebound effects), sufficiency (external link) prevents excessive demand from arising in the first place (external link). In public policy, it means setting clear thresholds of need, not encouraging endless expansion.
Nowhere is this principle more urgent than in water governance. Research by Del Vecchio and Mayaux (external link) shows that Morocco's agricultural model, especially export oriented farming, has led to unsustainable groundwater depletion. Industrial actors extract disproportionately, while smallholders face chronic scarcity.
Agriculture consumes over 89.26% of Morocco's water. (external link) Groundwater overexploitation now reaches 3 to 4 billion cubic meters annually, comparable to the entire yearly flow of the Sebou River (external link).
The Plan Maroc Vert (external link) exacerbated this pressure. Prioritizing high-value, water-intensive crops like avocados, citrus, and tomatoes for export, it undermines food sovereignty while deepening ecological strain and water insecurity. These strategies have intensified pressure on already fragile water basins and failed to ensure that rural communities can sustain their livelihoods. Rural livelihoods have suffered: between 2016 and 2025, Morocco lost nearly 40% of its national herd. This forced the cancellation of Aid Al-Adha sacrifice (external link), a central religious and social event, revealing just how fragile our agricultural fabric has become.
Your Majesty, the way forward lies in an agricultural transition grounded in sufficiency and equity. This means:
- Shifting away from water-thirsty export crops
- Prioritizing local, drought-resistant staples like barley, lentils, chickpeas, olives, carob, and almonds
- Supporting smallholder farmers and pastoralists; the true stewards of food security
- Encouraging agro-ecological practices that regenerate soils and replenish aquifers
Sufficiency also resonates with Morocco’s religious and cultural heritage. Islam calls for moderation and justice. By embracing sufficiency as a guiding principle, Your Majesty can honour this heritage while ensuring Morocco thrives within its planetary boundaries and secures the well-being of all its people.
This is not a vision of constraint; it is one of resilience, dignity, and intergenerational leadership. By embracing sufficiency, Morocco can chart a path of prosperity that is fair, sovereign, and sustainable for today, and for generations to come.