Morocco's agricultural sector has grown rapidly in recent years, raising concerns about insufficient resources, such as water and logistics. Nowadays, however, a different kind of scarcity has emerged and gives no peace to growers. At a time when the country's unemployment rate is 13.3% and its activity rate is 43.5% (High Commission for Planning), and when thousands of Moroccan workers leave for European farms every year, Moroccan growers are struggling to mobilize manpower, and sound the alarm about an imminent crisis, the first signs of which are already present.
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"The labor shortage is becoming more alarming than the water shortage"
The scarcity of agricultural labor in Morocco mostly affects seasonal jobs. Seasonal workers are vital for operations like phytosanitary treatment, maintenance, guarding, thinning, and harvesting, all critical, time-sensitive manual operations. As cultivated areas increase and the focus shifts towards high-value crops, tens of thousands of hectares throughout the country simultaneously require a large workforce. Othmane Michbal, the deputy general manager of Domaines Zniber, sums up the situation: "Labor scarcity has become a structural problem affecting all regions of Morocco, significantly impacting the profitability of various sectors. The situation is so dire today that labor is sourced anywhere from 100 to 150 kilometers away from production sites at a high cost. Absenteeism is rampant and disrupts the proper functioning of operations such as pruning, thinning, and harvesting. I would therefore argue that the labor shortage is becoming more alarming than the water shortage."
A number of crops in Morocco that require intensive unmechanized or unmechanizable operations are affected by this growing problem. According to Laraisse Esserrhini, director of the Moroccan Association of Fruit and Vegetable Exporting Producers (APEFEL), crops currently at the greatest risk include early vegetables, such as tomatoes, peppers, and beans; soft fruits; citrus; and stone fruits. The labor shortage extends to all production zones in Morocco and spans almost the entire season, from October to May.
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The shortage of manpower leads to volume losses and higher costs
One of the first industries to show symptomatic signs of this issue is strawberry production, also one of the most arduous crops for harvesters. Due to a lack of human resources, many growers have either reduced their acreage or switched to growing less labor-intensive fruits. This has contributed, among other reasons, to a decrease in acreage from 3,700 hectares in 2022 to 2,300 hectares in 2025. Amine Bennani, president of the Moroccan Association of Soft Fruit Growers, comments: "During peak harvest periods, which also coincide with peak operations for other fruits, even a brief delay in harvesting can lead to overripening, exposure to pests, and a significant loss in quality and volume. This has been the case in recent years, forcing many growers to reduce their acreage or exit the strawberry sector altogether. Labor availability is a serious threat, second only to the water stress."
Growers in other sectors, such as citrus, are reporting similar issues. According to Tariq Kabbage, president of the Kabbage Group, losses related to labor shortage in the citrus industry never fall below 15% of annual volumes, during harvest alone, not to mention the costs of labor sourcing. He adds, "This is now a very serious and structural problem that needs to be addressed. The causes are deep-rooted and linked to major social changes in our country. It will not be easy to deal with."
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"Recruitment schemes for seasonal workers have changed radically"
Until recently, seasonal workers in Morocco could easily be recruited within a short local radius, directly by growers or through local intermediaries, commonly referred to as "corporals", who were often involved in transporting workers. However, these intermediaries have gained an important role and scope in recent years. Many of them have started interim employment companies that recruit a large part of the labor force available in the main agricultural regions, making themselves indispensable, even unavoidable. At the same time, many of these workers refuse to work directly with growers.
Younes Razzouki, human resources director at Station Kabbage Souss, explains, "Recruitment schemes for seasonal workers have changed radically since the introduction of direct social aid in 2021. Workers who are declared under a different social security fund — in our case, the CNSS (the social security institution for the private sector) — are excluded from the direct assistance program. Because of this, more and more workers are refusing to be registered with the CNSS in order to continue to benefit from direct assistance. Of course, we cannot hire them as this puts us in noncompliance with the law and with social certifications, such as SMETA. This leaves us with no choice but to turn to interim employment companies, which now control the availability and flow of workers and often work with the highest-bidding growers. This creates competition between regions and industries. While some growers can afford to overpay for labor thanks to the high market price of their products, others can't keep up."
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Razzouki continues, "This side effect of direct social aid is added to other problems we're seeing, with many workers turning their backs on the agricultural sector or, frankly, lacking the drive we know from previous generations. I'm merely describing the surface of a social issue that needs to be researched, and its intervention mechanisms, such as direct aid, need to be reevaluated. I am not arguing for the elimination of social benefits, but rather for intermediate solutions that allow a window for seasonal work to be declared to the CNSS. In any case, we persist in drawing attention to the deteriorating situation, especially since 70% of the agricultural workforce is seasonal."
Housing as a proposed means of mitigation
Amine Bennani agrees with pointing out the effect of direct social assistance on workers' choices. He adds: "Many agricultural workers refuse to be declared to the CNSS, which puts growers in a difficult position. But the problem goes way deeper than that. I would even say there's a loss of motivation, forcing growers to scout for labor within a 1,000 km radius in the Loukkos region!" The paradox is clear: Every year, 12,000 workers from the same region travel to Spain to work in strawberry fields.
The representative of soft fruit growers acknowledges: "The partnership between Morocco and Spain regarding seasonal work does not bother us. It has been in place for a long time, and it has established a large workforce that is accustomed to it. As competing growers, we are used to it as well. However, it's important to note that during peak harvest periods, farm workers can earn in Morocco as much as they earn in Spain, or up to three or four times the Moroccan minimum wage. Surprisingly, many workers prefer a three-hour workday instead of maximizing their wages and helping us avoid crop loss issues."
According to Bennani, Spanish growers have an advantage over their Moroccan counterparts: the ability to house workers from remote areas. "There are certainly people who want to work, but we cannot bring them in from remote locations because the authorities have prohibited us from building temporary housing complexes until now. The workers we manage to hire already commute four hours a day, and it is not possible to go beyond that. This is also one of the main factors contributing to the current crisis. Here in Loukkos, we are more affected than in regions such as Souss Massa, where the presence of a large population of sub-Saharan migrants has proven to be a mitigating solution."
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The alternative of foreign labor
Many growers see the recourse to foreign labor, which currently takes the form of hiring migrants from sub-Saharan countries who either choose Morocco as a destination or transit through it on their journey to Europe, as the only serious and sustainable solution. A tomato grower in Agadir, speaking on condition of anonymity, says, "The number of workers from sub-Saharan countries in Souss Massa is enormous, around 17,000! And they are a lifeline for the region's agricultural sector. I can't imagine growers doing without them; that would be a dead end for many companies."
Younes Razzouki concurs: "The experiment carried out in Souss Massa has proven effective and successful. However, it poses many challenges, ranging from establishing appropriate agreements with countries of origin to providing these residents with peaceful living and integration conditions. It's yet another huge social and legal challenge, but I can't see any alternative to addressing labor shortage as surface areas continue to grow."
Still, growers in the Souss Massa region are not immune to the consequences of the limited availability of agricultural workers. In the tomato sector and other early crops such as peppers, labor turnover poses another major problem. Preventing the spread of viruses such as ToBRFV and applying strict quarantine measures have so far been the only means of control, but growers find themselves vulnerable when workers rotate between several farms, thus becoming vectors of contamination.
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Packaging houses are not immune to labor shortages
Besides labor-intensive crops, the crisis indirectly affects other growers, as well as packing houses and freezing plants, particularly during busy periods. One example is the fast-growing avocado industry. Yassin Chaib, an avocado grower in the Loukkous region and the CEO of Mavoca, says, "We don't have any trouble during production, but during the last two months of the season, we lose half of our daily export capacity because many local workers are mobilized to harvest blueberries or are involved in strawberry freezing."
Asmaa Latnani, sales manager of BL Agri, a packing house in Agadir, affirms that packers and exporters are not exempt from this problem. "The lack of manpower, whether in packing houses or on agricultural production sites, is a major concern today. It's a structural problem that worsens every year, especially during busy periods. The agricultural season generally runs from October to July, peaking in November and December. This is when the labor shortage is most acute. It coincides with the launch of certain labor-intensive, high-value crops, such as soft fruit. The high mobilization of personnel for these crops directly impacts other agricultural sectors, which then struggle to recruit enough workers to ensure timely harvesting and packing."
The competitiveness of Moroccan origin challenged
It is important to put into context, at the risk of oversimplifying, that the growth of Moroccan exports in recent years is largely due to post-COVID inflation in the European market, which has made Moroccan fresh produce plebiscited by consumers. In Morocco, competitiveness is achieved through lower labor costs. According to Latnani, "To meet our harvesting, processing, and delivery commitments, we often have to pay more than the market price to mobilize the necessary labor. This significantly impacts our operating costs in the fields and at the packing houses, but we have no other choice if we are to maintain the quality and lead times demanded by our customers, particularly for exports. In the current context of human resource shortages, we are not necessarily working below capacity; however, we have to resort to costly solutions to maintain the pace, such as overpaying the workforce, extending working hours, and mobilizing additional resources on very short notice. This increases the pressure on our teams and reduces our margins. Ultimately, this situation calls into question the profitability and competitiveness of the entire sector."
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Lastly, it is worth noting as well that the labor shortage in agriculture can also be attributed to the growth of several other sectors in recent years, such as the automotive industry, and the launch of major construction projects deemed priorities by decision-makers — particularly in light of Morocco's preparations to host the 2030 World Cup. As Laraisse Esserrhini says, "There are currently many construction megaprojects in infrastructure and other industries all over the country. Development efforts are reaching all regions, mobilizing both specialized and nonspecialized labor. Competition to source labor is not only between crops, but also between economic sectors."
The labor issue raises questions and debates as old as history regarding value sharing and working conditions. Here, it is addressed from an employer's standpoint and limited to reporting the impact on production. As Tariq Kabbage puts it, "Growers must honor their commitments to customers and consumers, as well as to workers. There are ways to earn the loyalty of the agricultural workforce, starting with urgent solutions regarding safety conditions during transport and providing a fair income throughout the year, not just during busy periods." Younes Razzouki, for his part, poses the burning question: "Surface areas and volumes are increasing incredibly, but we need to pause and ask: Who's going to harvest them?"
For more information:
Othmane Michbal
Domaines Zniber
Email: omichbal@domaineszniber.ma
Esserrhini Laraisse
Moroccan Association of Fruit and Vegetable Exporting Producers (APEFEL)
Email: apefel.apefel@gmail.com
Tariq Kabbage
Group Kabbage
Email: kabbage.t@gmail.com
Younes Razzouk
Station Kabbage Souss
Email: contact@sks.ma
Amine Bennani
Moroccan Association of Soft Fruit Growers
Email: phytoloukkos@gmail.com
Yassin Chaib
Mavoca
Email: yassin.chaib.yc@gmail.com
Asmaa Latnani
BL Agri
Email: sales@bl-agri.com