Drip Irrigation in Morocco

Drip irrigation is another strategy that works by applying water directly to the soil surface or the root zone of plants. It is a water efficient technology as it reduces water consumption whilst increasing crop yields (Jobbins et al, 2015). This compares to conventional flood irrigation. Comparatively, drip irrigation reduces water loss by evaporation and distribution. Drip irrigation uses 30-50% less water and achieves up to 95% irrigation efficiency (Narayanmoorthy, 2004). Figures suggest that drip irrigation would particularly be beneficial for Moroccan farmers.

Two drip irrigation projects were implemented for farmers surrounding the Saïs basin. A farmer on the Bitit pilot project found that water supply was so efficient from the drip irrigation system, that his single owned hectare had to only be irrigated every two and a half days instead of the usual five days. Interviews with farmers showed 83% had a clear preference for drip irrigation as a response to reduced water supplies as water was saved and less time was spent on labour (Kalpakian et al, 2014). Nevertheless, preference does not translate into actual use.

There were several obstacles that farmers faced in implementing drip irrigation systems, as discovered by knowledge, attitudes and practice surveys of 519 farmers in the Bitit and Ain Chegag communities, which led to only 10% of farmers adopting the drip irrigation system even though many had a preference towards it.

Figure 1: Table showing the reasons why farmers chose irrigation systems (Kalpakian et al, 2014).

Figure 1 shows that 48.2% of farmers stated that they could not afford drip irrigation technologies. Additionally, regulations and subsidies require literacy and knowledge of paperwork and procedures, which 13.1% lacked. Regions in Morocco are therefore devoid of drip irrigation systems, showing that high diffusion of knowledge of drip irrigation efficiency do not translate into high diffusion of the technology. This suggests that policymakers should focus on the obstacles that farmers face in acquiring, installing, and using drip irrigation (Kalpakian et al, 2014).

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