http://www.fao.org/globalsoilpartnership This presentation was made during the NENA Soil Partnership Conference that took place in Amman, Jordan 1-3 June 2015. This presentation was made by Dr. Moussadek Rachid, and it presents the Status of Soil Resources and Priorities towards Sustainable Soil Management in Morocco. ©FAO: http://www.fao.org

1. 02/06/2015
1
NENA Soil Partnership Conference: towards a regional
implementation plan on sustainable management of soil resources
1-3 June 2015, Amman, Jordan
Status of Soil Resources and Priorities towards
Sustainable Soil Management
Challenges, Opportunities, National Policies and Institutional Mechanisms
Country: Morocco
Dr. Moussadek Rachid
Introduction

2. 02/06/2015
2
Moroccan agriculture
Distribution of agricultural land
Uncultivated
44%
Rangelands
30%
Forest
8%
Alfalfa
5%Agricultural lands
13%
Rainfed
88%
Irrigared
12%
9 Millions Ha
Favorable
rainfed
33%
Unfavorable
rainfed
67%
Source : Direction of Vegetal Production,Source : Direction of Vegetal Production,
Ministry of Agriculture of MoroccoMinistry of Agriculture of Morocco
Population growth
• Population growth resulted in
increased reliance on continuous
cropping and hence in soil nutrient
mining and drawdown of active
organic matter.
• As population grows and puts
more pressure on soils, so it is
expected that food insecurity will
also grow.
0
20
40
60
80
100
Populationinmillions
1900 1925 1950 1975 2000 2025
Years
Algeria Egypt Morocco

3. 02/06/2015
3
Drought is becoming a structural factor
- Extreme variation in climate is
becoming the rule rather than
the exception.
- Any month of the « rainy »
season (october to april) can be
absolutly dry or abnormally
wet.
- Economic instability is a
trademark of the region.
average = 365 mm
CV = 33 %
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
Year
AnnualRainfall(mm)
Soils of Morocco
7,4
7,6
7,8
8
8,2
8,4
8,6
8,8
9
9,2
9,4
1971
1982
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2001
2003
Year
AgriculturalArea(MillionsHa)
No more suitable agricultural lands
Evolution Agricultural lands (ha/person)
World bank, 2014

4. 02/06/2015
4
Introduction
• The total area covered by soil survey is estimated to 20 M ha.
It is mostly concentrated in the North and central western
part the country, north of the Atlas Mountains.
• At present, only about 30 % of national soil resources are
mapped and characterised at detailed scale (<1/250 000).
• The French soil classification system (CPCS of 1967) is almost
the unique legend used. A schematic general soil map of
Morocco was prepared at the scale of 1:2 500 000.
Characterization of soil resources

5. 02/06/2015
5
Exemple of Soil Maps
Maps (1/500.000)

6. 02/06/2015
6
Map (1/2,5M)
Moroccan soil resources
Soil maps
National irrigated
agriculture program
launched in 1967
1/20.000 and 1/10.000 soil
maps covering 2.5
millions Ha
National rainfed areas
development program
launched at 80s
1/50.000 and 1/100.000
soil maps covering 6.12
millions Ha
Moroccan dominant soils
1 – North and North-West: Luvisols, Vertisols, Kastanozems,
Chernozems, Phaeozems, Cambisols
2 – South and South-East: Lithosols, Regosols, Rendzinas, Xerosols,
Yermosols, Fluvisols

7. 02/06/2015
7
Moroccan soil resources
Moroccan dominant soils
1 – North and North-West: Luvisols, Vertisols, Kastanozems,
Chernozems, Phaeozems, Cambisols
2 – South and South-East: Lithosols, Regosols, Rendzinas, Xerosols,
Yermosols, Fluvisols
Major soil constraints affecting sustainable
agricultural production and development
• Soil erosion is the most important soil degradation
process in Morocco. The total annual soil loss is
evaluated to 100 millions tons.
• Soil depth (limits soil depth). This is a major constraint
limiting the agricultural arable land in Morocco. A
survey per-formed in different regions of the country
showed that about 2 millions ha could be re-claimed by
subsoiling and stones removal.

8. 02/06/2015
8
Soil quality changes in irrigated perimeters
Many studies conducted in the irrigated perimeters have shown that
irrigation leads generally to soil and water quality deterioration. The
major degradations are:
• Salinisation, surface sealing, rising of saline groundwater, reduction of
soil drainage, soil compaction. At present, the surface area of saline soils
is estimated to about 0,8-1 Mha.
• Loss of organic matter. A mean soil organic matter is low than 2 %
Major soil constraints affecting sustainable
agricultural production and development
Major challenges of soil resources

9. 02/06/2015
9
WRB
Leptosols
Regosols
Calcisols
Kastanozems
Vertisols
Etc….
Major soils in Morocco

10. 02/06/2015
10

11. 02/06/2015
11
The Moroccan soil information system needs to be improved by:
• Updating the existent soil database;
• Establishment of new specialised national and regional GIS laboratories to
improve the storing capacity and interpretation of soil information;
• Training of new pedologists and technicians for new approach of soil
mapping;
• A national program of soil inventory and mapping is needed to complete
soil survey in Morocco and to coordinate the activity between specialised
scientific institutions, research centers, and the administration.

12. 02/06/2015
12
Exemples of recents projects
related to soils resources
Land Evaluation for rainfed agriculture

13. 02/06/2015
13
Land Evaluation for rainfed agriculture
National agricultural soils’ fertility map project
Online webmapping

14. 02/06/2015
14
Thank you
Dr. Rachid MOUSSADEK
(INRA-MOROCCO)
rachidmoussadek@yahoo.fr