Acqua, sviluppo agricolo e commercio internazionale: il caso della valle del Dr‘a in Marocco

Abstract

Morocco, as other countries located on the southern shores of the Mediterranean, is a water-scarce country, characterized
by regions with depleted groundwater reserves, and whose agricultural exports, mainly directed to Mediterranean
markets, represent an important share of the national economy. In the last decade, Moroccan watermelon has been in
growing demand throughout Europe however, findings from my research suggest that in some of the producing regions,
such as the Dr‘a Valley, the rise in watermelon exports led to the overexploitation of local water resources with a serious
impact on drinking water supplies quality and subsistence agriculture. Watermelon production, indirectly enhanced by
public funds allocated by the Moroccan State in the frame of its agricultural policies and by the international markets in
which Morocco is inserted, can directly affect how access to water is experienced at a local level. This paper, based on
ethnographic fieldwork conducted in 2015 in the Dr‘a Valley, in southern Morocco, aims to highlight the effects of an
export oriented market in a context of water scarcity. Through this case study, this paper highlights the importance of
water management policies as well as the potential consequences, not always obvious, of market exchanges.