The Impact of Agribusiness Development Policies on Water Resources: Governance Challenges and Lessons From Morocco’s Water Crisis

As the water crisis intensifies around the world, environmental and social shocks such as livelihood loss, conflicts, and tragic depletion of water resources arise. While agribusiness development policies aim at improving the economy, it ignores the governance of limited water resources, vulnerable environment, and rural communities. In this study, we investigate socio-economic and environmental effects of hydro-agricultural policies in the Souss basin in Morocco. To this end, climate, land use, and groundwater data as well as field interviews are combined to investigate the problem. The findings indicate that the physical water shortage is worsened by agricultural policies. Furthermore, the ceaseless supply development policy aliments a vicious cycle of supply-demand which depletes resources and spreads vulnerabilities. However, insights from the Souss basin highlight the relevance of local community-based water governance, especially when top-down, technocratic approaches fail.