Al Moutmir schemes show 20 per cent cereal yield gains in push to ease Morocco’s wheat reliance

Morocco’s push to reduce its reliance on imported cereals has shown early promise, with demonstration plots boosting wheat yields by more than 20 per cent in a year marked by severe drought, according to results from the Al Moutmir programme, an initiative backed by OCP and the Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P).

The kingdom, one of the world’s largest wheat importers, typically produces less than half the grain it consumes, leaving it exposed to volatility in Black Sea and French supply. Recent harvests have been hit hard by erratic rainfall, forcing the government to spend heavily to secure supplies after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine upended global markets.

Al Moutmir installed 1,102 plateformes de démonstration across 24 provinces in 2024-25, including 876 dedicated to cereals and 226 to legumes. The sites serve as open-air laboratories, testing fertiliser tailored by soil analysis, integrated pest control and direct seeding — a practice that conserves moisture and is central to Morocco’s Green Generation plan.

The numbers are striking. Cereals grown under optimised itineraries yielded 21–23 per cent more than control plots, while legumes rose 26–33 per cent. Direct seeding boosted productivity by about 20 per cent compared with conventional sowing.

“Thanks to the demonstration plot on soft wheat and the guidance of Al Moutmir engineers, I discovered the benefits of tailored fertilisation,” said Hicham Sabiri, a farmer from Beni Mellal. “The digital app also helped me identify diseases early, which saved my crop.”

Others stressed resilience. “Even in these difficult years of little rain, I managed to raise yields on my lentil field,” said Abdelkrim Anouini from Khemisset. “This has restored my confidence to keep investing.”

Financial returns have also improved. Margins on demonstration plots outpaced control fields by 33–54 per cent, reflecting both higher output and leaner use of inputs, according to programme data.

The initiative doubled as a training tool. Some 275 farmers took part directly, with another 3,000 reached through field schools, workshops and digital channels. Mobile soil labs and the Smart Blender fertiliser mixer linked research to the field, while UM6P convened scientists, agronomists and policymakers in Benguerir this month to review results.

With more than 600 of the plots focused on direct seeding, the project is becoming a test case for scaling up climate adaptation. 

Institutionally, the effort is backed by the agriculture ministry, the ONCA advisory office and provincial directorates, alongside OCP’s agronomic expertise. UM6P hosted the 17th Al Moutmir Open Innovation Lab in September, where officials, researchers and agronomists reviewed results and discussed scaling up practices to national level.