Morocco's
agriculture sector is facing significant challenges due to a rapidly changing
climate, with water shortages and increased drought frequency. This has
far-reaching consequences on the socio-economic structure, livelihoods, food
security, and rural communities heavily reliant on agriculture. To address this
challenge, collective efforts are needed to strengthen resilience, adopt
water-efficient practices, and investigate crops that are resilient to climate
change.
The
CGIAR Initiative on Climate Resilience (ClimBeR) aims to transform food, land,
and water systems in six low- and middle-income countries. The initiative
focuses on improving living and working conditions in rural areas and promoting
job creation, especially for young people. Morocco being a highly climate
vulnaerable country is a focal country for ClimBeR. The
need for digital agricultural extension in Morocco is significant due to its
potential benefits, including increased outreach, timely information,
personalized advice, improved efficiency, and data-driven decision-making.
However, the current system struggles to reach all farmers, especially those in
remote areas or facing language barriers. Digital tools like mobile apps, online
platforms, and radio broadcasts can reach a wider audience, but challenges
include limited internet access, digital literacy, language barriers, and high
technology costs.
The
Climate Resilience initiative contributes to this national vision by developing
a comprehensive digital solution called "GeoAgro Maroc." This
innovative application serves the national extension system, farmers, youth, and
women by providing site-specific agronomic recommendations generated from
various farm analytics. GeoAgro Maroc enables Moroccan farmers to achieve
digital transformation with sustainable solutions, resulting in improved farm
management, yields, and productivity.
The
GeoAgro-Maroc system consists of a centralized server, an app, and an
administrative dashboard. Users interact with experts through announcements,
queries, and responses, while API-based services stream information on
crop-specific agronomic packages of practices. Questions posted by farmers to
experts are channelized to the targeted experts, and their responses are sent to
the GeoAgro-Maroc app instantaneously.