Combating Drought in Morocco

In the Moroccan countryside, old farming methods, low-value crops, and patchy health care and schooling have kept many people mired in poverty.  In 1994 and 1995, a drought that reduced Morocco’s agricultural gross domestic product by 45 percent threatened to cause severe long-term damage.

The World Bank responded with a $100 million Emergency Drought Recovery Project aimed at restoring crop and livestock production, improving rural roads, and supplying drinkable water. A seed distribution program, combined with plentiful rain, enabled cereal production to recover to 9.7 million tons in the 1995-96 season from 1.6 million tons in the 1994-95 crop.  A water supply component brought clean drinking water to 196,000 rural people, and is expected to significantly improve the health of children and elderly people in particular.  The project also supported the construction and rehabilitation of 1,650 kilometers of rural roads.

Updated: July 2002