German - Moroccan Expert Dialogue on Agriculture and Forestry (DIAF Morocco)

The German-Morocco expert dialogue (DIAF) is a bilateral cooperation program between the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture and the Moroccan Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Rural Development, Water and Forests.

One of the three project components of the DIAF is focused on organic agriculture and aims to enable the Moroccan government to effectively promote and oversee the development of organic agriculture in the country. 

The Moroccan government, through the 2008 “Plan Maroc Vert”, has set itself ambitious targets for the modernization of agriculture including a focus on the sustainable use of natural resources and the promotion of organic agriculture. One decade later progress in organic development has been made, but many challenges persist including the uptake of organic production by Moroccan farmers remaining below the expected targets. In particular, organic certification is still considered a hurdle and group certification (Internal Control System ICS) is not widespread. Furthermore, there is a lack of a sound marketing strategy for the domestic market and no reliable data on the potential of the domestic market.

IFOAM - Organics International’s involvement in DIAF component 1 is focussed on providing technical advice to the Moroccan government and stakeholders on how to further develop the organic sector in Morocco including the development and implementation of a new national organic action plan, the adoption of supporting policies and the implementation of the organic regulation that was passed in 2013. It is also foreseen to support some local pilot activities that will likely include Participatory Guarantee Systems (PGS) and group certification (ICS).

The goal of our work is to support and advise stakeholders and the Moroccan government to enable them to effectively support the development of the organic sector.

Concrete Objectives

The market-oriented promotion of organic farming is expected to create professional supply chains, and facilitate national and international market access. It is also expected to increase the profitability of the participating farms.

Activities will lead to a better understanding of the principles and methods of organic farming and will make the farming systems more sustainable.

Increase the proportion of organically farmed land in Morocco, which will also have positive effects on biodiversity, soil, water, and the climate. 

Morocco could improve its position on international markets for organic products.

For more information contact Christian Novak christian.novak@afci.de and Joelle Katto-Andrighetto, j.katto@ifoam.bio