Agricultural policies in Morocco: An historical approach to explaining rural underdevelopment

As in much of the developing world, agriculture features heavily in Morocco's economy. Morocco's agricultural development, however, has been characterized by extreme dualism—an efficient, export-oriented, modern agricultural sector on the one hand, and the much larger traditional sector. This dualistic development has prevented effective poverty alleviation in rural areas, even if agricultural GDP continues to grow. Instead, the traditional sector has remained largely underdeveloped, while the modern, agricultural export industries have enjoyed continued expansion. This paper explores from an historical perspective the agricultural policies that have led to this dualistic development. Tracing the development of Morocco's rural development from before the protectorate regime of 1912, through to the period of structural in the mid-1980s, a continuity becomes apparent in the pattern of rural development in Morocco. Long-standing relationships between the central government and rural areas have interacted with external influences, perpetuating a policy-making environment that favours the rural elite.