Plant Trees to Empower Farming Families in Morocco

Despite its international reputation as a reformist country, women in Morocco continue to face significant obstacles to social, economic, and political participation. Progressive revisions of the Moudawana Family Code (2004) and amendments to the Moroccan constitution (2011) have aided in the national promotion of liberty and equality but the remaining gender gap in Morocco is the result of longstanding cultural norms and a resistance to change. Female empowerment, however, is the vital ingredient to achieving a more inclusive, open, and prosperous society, warranting a heightened focus in order to support the overall development of Morocco.  

Female Economic Participation

Female economic participation in Morocco ranks among the lowest in the world. Indeed, as of 2016,Morocco lies in the bottom 20 percent of female participation in the labor force, and there has been very little progress over the past two decades to improve this position. These statistics demonstrate Morocco’s failure to tap into one of its most valuable assets, subsequently slowing economic growth, diversification, and overall productivity. Thus, gender inequality is not solely a social issue, but an economic one too. Countries with existent gender gaps are losing $160 trillion in wealth because of the variances in lifetime earnings between men and women. By granting Moroccan women greater economic power and ownership, they will possess the control to access economic resources/markets, manage their own time and income, and make meaningful and beneficial decisions for themselves, their households, and their communities. Ultimately, women’s economic empowerment could have far-reaching positive consequences that benefit the country at large.

Access to Education

Increasing access to education is a critical precursor to empowering the female population. This is because educated girls are able to pursue more meaningful work opportunities in higher productivity sectors. These jobs tend to be more secure and offer greater benefits to the individual and society as a whole. In fact, UNICEF states that “one percentage point increase in female education raises the average level of GDP by 0.37 percentage points”. The ramifications of a basic education go beyond the economic domain, however. Increasing access to educational opportunities and finance for women can contribute to reduced fertility rates, increased labor force participation, reduced infant and maternal mortality rate, and overall healthier families. This is generally because increased employment opportunities and better knowledge about contraception prompt women to have smaller families and to begin child-bearing at a later age. Fewer children in a household translates to more abundant resources and attention, subsequently improving the chances that an infant will survive. There is also evidence that women with greater education tend to marry later and on better terms.

Social and Political Transformation

The social transformation that accompanies economically empowered women is unbounded and inter-generational. Women are more likely to spend money on things that support their children and household, therefore benefiting their families and improving the chances of their children to achieve health and prosperity. In a household where the mother is educated, children, and specifically girls, are more likely to attend school and benefit from improved nutrition. Furthermore, educated women are able to take on leadership roles and support positive development outcomes for the country. This consequently speeds up the reduction in gender inequality as having more women in leadership roles translates to policies that will promote improvements to the livelihoods of Moroccan women and girls. Educated women are more likely to engage in civic participation, attend political meetings, and politically participate within their area. Active participation in political and economic conversations also expands women’s agency and choice, increasing their voice and ability to influence society and challenge established norms that limit women’s rights and hinder economic and social development as it currently resides.

Gender equality is not only a basic human right, but fundamental to achieving a peaceful, prosperous Morocco. Empowering Moroccan women to live safe and productive lives allows them to reach their full potential and is the key to economic growth, political stability, and social transformation. By empowering Moroccan women through policies that facilitate greater access to financial and educational opportunities, the country will experience sustainable economic benefits, social development, and community growth.The High Atlas Foundation’s IMAGINE Workshops that are part of its Farmer-to-Farmer Program (funded by USAID) are working to accomplish this exact sentiment, by facilitating a personal growth process and assisting women, especially those from remote, marginalized communities, in finding their voices and achieving their goals. In doing so, IMAGINE participants are strengthened as rights holders and better able to advocate for and act on their needs and goals. It is grassroots movements such as this one that will ultimately have a catastrophic impact on the economic standing and human development ranking of low-income countries in the near future.

1. Is our work officially divided into several small projects (each running for a specific time period) or is our tree planting counted as on-going work (without time limits or a defined project scope)

The tree planting project of the High Atlas Foundation has timelines, specific scopes, and benchmarks that directly correspond to the number of trees planted and their monitoring in addition to project and budgetary reporting as well as fulfilling procedures related to securing the necessary certifications in order to produce, transport, and transplant trees in all jurisdictions of Morocco.

2. How many trees have we planted in the last 3 years? (When were those projects registered)

In the past three years, HAF planted 1,045,000 trees in 39 provinces in Morocco with approximately 9,000 farming families, including 11 varieties of fruit-bearing trees and approximately 1,680 hectares of land. HAF's project in partnership with Ecosia, the German social enterprise, began on April 6, 2017.

3. How is our financial system set up? Is our main cost nurseries and employees?

Our main costs are those associated with first establishing nurseries, particularly water infrastructure like wells, solar water pump systems, wells, towers, piping, and the staff to maintain the nurseries. The other major cost is that of monitoring the trees that we plant with farming communities with farming households. This is a significant human resource, including the cost of travel and accommodations.

HAF utilizes a Quickbooks system, generating monthly financial statements that are reconciled and provided to the finance committee of HAF's Board of Directors. HAF is also annually audited by a third party by Price WaterhouseCoopers. Audit reports are available upon request.

4. Can we prove to have an ongoing financial need/gap to finance our projects?

Yes, we can. HAF has been granted land lent in-kind in order to build an additional 12 community-managed nurseries. These nurseries could generate a combined approximately 4 million trees annually. HAF is currently without funding in order to implement these new and important nurseries in different biozones of the country. These nurseries would be in addition to the 13 nurseries that HAF currently manages with communities on land lent in-kind by public agencies, including the Department of Water and Forests, the Ministry of Education, and the Ministry of Youth and Sports, as well as University Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah in Fez. Lenders of land also include cooperatives, associations, and the Moroccan Jewish community. The potential nurseries that can be built with new financial partners are critical for farming communities to transition toward the far more financially sustainable and beneficial organic fruit trees.

5. Can we provide a map with our project locations (how many trees per location)?

Yes, this map is a sample of trees monitored in the past nine months: With the current planting season recently concluded, we are now heavily focused on monitoring the nearly 780,000 trees that have been planted in 2020-2021.

6. Would we be open to certification of our projects in combination with those of other Moroccan organizations? (This would lower the cost of certification for us)

Yes, we are open to working with partners in order to gain certification at a reduced cost. We have already had recent discussions with the director of the National Institute for Agriculture Research, an agency that HAF is now developing a partnership agreement with in order to assist with soil samples and mapping that help fulfill certification and monitoring requirements.