• Morocco to launch $108M plan to boost rural youth jobs
• Program targets training, co-ops amid 1M agricultural job losses
• Climate-smart skills key as sector modernizes, adapts to drought
  

Morocco’s Ministry of Agriculture plans a 1-billion-dirham ($108.5 million) national program to support rural employment. The announcement was reported by Hespress on Friday, October 17, citing Agriculture Minister Ahmed El Bouari’s remarks to Parliament.

The initiative is part of the government’s 2025-2030 employment roadmap, adopted in May. El Bouari said the program will focus on two priorities: providing practical training for 90,000 young people, supported by agricultural advisory services; and creating 3,400 cooperative farming projects, mainly in livestock.

The plan also offers financial incentives (subsidies, land-leasing support, and investment aid) to help young entrepreneurs access land and start businesses. El Bouari said the goal is to improve rural youth employability and boost agricultural growth by giving them long-term economic prospects.

Sector Faces Massive Job Losses

The program comes as Morocco’s agricultural sector has shed a large number of jobs. The country’s central bank, Bank Al-Maghrib (BAM), estimates that the sector lost nearly 1 million jobs between 2019 and 2024, a trend that continued into 2025.

According to the National Employment Survey published by the High Commission for Planning (HCP) in October, the agriculture, forestry, and fishing sector saw a drop of 108,000 jobs between the second quarter of 2024 and the same period in 2025.

BAM’s 2023 annual report attributed the decline to several factors, most notably the persistent drought since 2019 and worsening water stress linked to climate change, both of which have severely reduced agricultural output. Job losses have also been exacerbated by greater reliance on mechanization. BAM data show that Morocco’s stock of agricultural machinery grew sharply between 2008 and 2018, with the number of tractors rising from 40,000 to 75,000 and combine harvesters increasing from 3,000 to 7,000 units.

Need for Climate-Smart and Tech-Oriented Training

To succeed in the long term, the job-support program must address climate challenges by creating professional opportunities tied to climate adaptation. The central bank has recommended that authorities strengthen mitigation and adaptation policies, notably through the adoption of proven climate-smart farming techniques.

Training programs should also match the needs of a rapidly evolving agricultural labor market. Beyond mechanization, Moroccan farming is increasingly adopting precision technologies such as smart irrigation, soil sensors, agricultural drones, and crop-monitoring systems. These changes require rural youth to develop new technical and digital skills to stay employable in the sector.

Stéphanas Assocle