Activities in Morocco

The Kingdom of Morocco is currently experiencing high rates of poverty in rural areas, particularly in Errachidia Province. The aim of the Community Development Project for Errachidia Province is to identify the measures needed to alleviate poverty. The project is therefore supporting the province’s efforts to establish a rural development study based on the regional needs and potential as well as the development plans of communes, the country’s basic administrative units. These study and related pilot projects will be used to improve the planning and implementation process as well as the organizational structure involved. Additionally, the people involved with the provincial and local administrative organizations, executing agencies and local community organizations will gain valuable skills.

The aim of this project is to raise the standard of living among rural communities in Errachidia Province by devising plans for provincial and communal development focused on income generation and growth. To assist local residents, administrators and project implementation-related personnel in building skills, a partial implementation procedure will be used along with monitoring to provide feedback. The key items to be included in the development plan are: promoting added value to products and improving market distribution to generate resident income, and introducing and enhancing of water management and water-saving agriculture.

• Scope of Work signed on: November 13, 2008
• Cooperation Period: Three years
• Executing Agencies: General Directorate of Local Communities of the Ministry of the Interior, Governor of Errachidia, the Tafilalet Regional Agricultural Development Authority (ORMVA)

Project Highlights

JICA currently has a number of projects either complete or underway in Errachidia Province. These include technical cooperation for agriculture, education and maternal and child health; waterworks improvements funded by Japanese ODA loans; and volunteer activities. There is thus a wealth of practical knowledge and expertise available for implementing this study. Specific measures will be investigated to improve the standard of living and develop rural communities with the participation of administrators, sector-specific agencies and the communities themselves. The pilot will include studies of the communes and organizations ultimately benefiting from the projects to further enhance the results produced