• Japan lends $346.7M to Morocco for Gharb plain irrigation project
• Plan extends irrigation to 30,000 hectares using Al Wahda dam resources
• Project supports national goals to boost crop yields and water efficiency
  

Morocco has secured a 64.6 billion yen ($346.7 million) loan from Japan. The funds will finance an agricultural water management project in the southeast of the Gharb plain, the government said on Thursday.

The loan agreement was signed in Rabat between Morocco's Ministry of the Budget, the Japanese Embassy, and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), according to details reported by local media La Vie Éco.

The project aims to extend irrigation across 30,000 hectares to optimize water resources from the Al Wahda dam. Authorities plan to promote water-saving irrigation techniques, particularly drip irrigation, to improve water resource management and increase agricultural production efficiency in the region.

The initiative supports Morocco's broader effort to modernize irrigation and enhance its contribution to agricultural performance. In the North African kingdom, irrigated farming accounts for approximately 45% of agricultural value added, 75% of agricultural export volumes, and 86% of industrial crop production, according to official data.

The Japanese financing comes days after the launch of the 2025/2026 agricultural season on November 14. As part of this season, Morocco's Agriculture Ministry aims to plant more than 4 million hectares with cereals and legumes. Authorities have reaffirmed their target to expand the national supplementary irrigation program for cereals to reach 1 million hectares by 2030.

Stéphanas Assocle