Agriculture also accounts for 80% of total fresh-water consumption in Morocco. Most
fresh-water in Morocco comes from rainfall and melting snow collected by large dams. Water
from these dams is delivered by canal systems. Some areas have ground water supply to
supplement surface water (Tsur and Dinar, 1995). Surface water is regulated by nine regional
agricultural development authorities. Water scarcity is also faced by Morocco because of
irregular rainfall patterns and increasing use in agriculture (USAID).
Farmers are charged a fee by regional authorities that is generally lower than the water’s
real values (Diao, Roe and Doukkali). Benabderazik described the interaction between
institutions and decision-makers in Morocco. He found that institutional change influences
options available for water pricing and water allocation policies. Nevertheless, water
administration in Morocco has demonstrated a tendency towards decentralization and functional
specialization, even though it has a centralized political structure (Saleth and Dinar). Economy-
wide gains from decentralized water allocation have been investigated by Diao, Roe and
Doukkali. They concluded that macro-economic variables and water market reform together
influence water reallocation among crops and farmers.
The present research classifies Moroccan agricultural land into Large Scale Irrigation
(LSI) Land, Private and Other Irrigation (PRI) Land, and Rain-fed Land (Doukkali). Table 3
shows that cereals are the main crops grown in each category. Industrial crops, including sugar
beet, sugar cane, sunflower, and peanuts, are planted on LSI land and rain-fed land. No industrial
crops are produced on PRI land. Most vegetables and fruits are cultivated on PRI land. In the
policy analysis that follows, this cropping pattern serves as a starting point for land allocation
among crops under the different irrigation land classifications. Welfare levels for the agricultural
sector including both irrigated and rain-fed area are reported. Irrigation water demand changes in
16
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