Women suffer in Morocco’s agriculture sector amid outsourcing
Women farmers in Morocco are struggling under poor working conditions brought on by the North African kingdom’s outsourcing of the agriculture industry to Spanish companies.
According to international farmers union, La Via Campesina, on January 23rd, Moroccan women, who make up the vast majority of agriculture workers, are facing increasing temporary jobs with no social security coverage, wage discrimination and occupational accidents.
A framework unveiled in June 2023, saw Rabat pledge a nearly $1bn investment in agriculture, as drought and global economic challenges impacted the sector, according to Morocco World News.
However, La Via Campesina says these subsidies attracted Spanish agri-businesses to expand their operations to Morocco, with a capitalistic thirst to reduce costs and deliver products to Europe at very low prices.
Karima El Fouari was farmer in northern Morocco, who moved to Agadir in southern Morocco a few years ago for a better wage for her family, working in the citrus sector.
The labour forces of these giant Spanish conglomerates that she joined in Agadir, work in difficult conditions and, according to Fouari, women face wage discrimination.
She said: “Women are considered inferior, there is enormous discrimination in wages, they are not allowed to take on tasks of responsibility and are prevented from joining the union.”
As part of a Women’s labour union, she mediates between employers and employees, attempting to improve work conditions for female employees.
Fouari says many workers commute very long distances, risking life and limb to get to their place of work.
She said: “They are put in vans where they travel standing up and without any kind of security. They suffer numerous accidents. Depending on the region, it can take them up to an hour to get there. In addition, they have to take long, unsafe roads to reach the pick-up point. In the meantime, they are victims of robbery and sometimes rape”.
As a union member, she has taken landowners to court over workers rights, and even forced agriculture businesses to pack their bags, though they often just move to a different region in Morocco.
Another major challenge for the country is the reduction in rain over the last five years, making water a scarce and costly resource, particularly in rural traditional farming areas.
The climate has encouraged many Spanish and Israeli companies to buy up large swathes of land, using advanced irrigation and economies of scale to make vastly greater profits, while putting traditional farmers out of business.
Mehadrin, the Israeli company leader in the production and export of citrus and avocados, settled a few months ago in the country, allowing it to lease 1,235 hectares for the production and export of this tropical fruit at low cost.
With water thirsty crops, spreading across the kingdom, its no surprise Morocco’s water reserves are decreasing.
Around 33% of Morocco’s work force are in agriculture, with the sector making up 14% of the country’s GDP, according to Hespress.
With Spanish companies enjoying lower labor costs, tax benefits, and fewer regulatory hurdles, and Rabat raking in huge profits, who will care for the backbone of the industry, Moroccan labourers, who have reaped few of the benefits.
La Via Campesina, Morocco World News, Hespress
