MENAdrought project achievements and prospects in Morocco: final report

MENAdrought is a demand-led applied research and technical support project whose objective is to aid the project countries in building self-reliance in managing the impacts of drought on water and food security in order to limit social and economic losses. It came into being following the High-Level Meeting on National Drought Policy (HMNDP) convened by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) in 2013, where countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region sought technical support to improve drought monitoring and management in their water and agricultural systems. Morocco was involved in the MENAdrought project from its inception.

This report focuses on Pillars 1 and 2 of WMO’s Integrated Drought Management Programme, and summarizes the Moroccan drought context, the Department of Strategy and Statistic's (DSS) capability for operational monitoring of drought and forecasting of rainfall on a seasonal basis, and the usage of the tools and web interfaces. In concert, these approaches support thematic drought monitoring and reporting for major crop types with a primary focus on rainfed agricultural systems including cereals and rangelands.