Global innovation spotlight: Morocco

Reflecting our global Springwise readership, we explore the innovation landscape and freshest thinking from a new country each week. This week we are heading to Morocco…

Morocco Innovation Profile

Global Innovation Index ranking: 67^th

Climate targets: A 45.5 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 – 18.3 per cent of this target is unconditional with the remaining 27.2 per cent conditional on international assistance

Sustainability issues

Water scarcity – Morocco is extremely vulnerable to drought and water scarcity. Development strains, increased demand for irrigation, and population growth are causing a decline in renewable water resources. Water-stressed farms, in turn, require greater irrigation, further reducing available water in a vicious circle.

Phosphate production – Morocco plays a crucial role in the global food system. The country possesses over 70 per cent of the world’s phosphate rock deposits from which the phosphorous used in fertiliser is derived. Phosphate extraction and fertiliser production both have a major environmental impact as they are highly energy- and water-intensive.

Coastal erosion – Rising sea levels and climate-change-exacerbated coastal erosion are threatening the livelihoods of many coastal Moroccans working in sectors such as fisheries and tourism. In fact, according to the World Bank, coastal erosion threatens to swamp entire beaches in the MENA region.

Sector specialisms

• – Agtech
• – Fintech
• – Healthtech

Three Exciting Innovations From Morocco

BUILDING AN INCLUSIVE NETWORK OF SUSTAINABLE, CONNECTED FARMS

For farmers in Africa and the Middle East, reliance on an increasingly volatile climate is making it more and more difficult to achieve a stable, predictable income. And, according to The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, aridity in parts of the Middle East/North Africa (MENA) region will increase in the next century, shrinking arable lands and disrupting agricultural patterns. This worrying trend inspired the foundation of Jodoor, a Rabat-based startup that designs, builds, and installs hi-tech connected greenhouses for farmers. Read more

CULTIVATING DESERT LAND FOR AGRICULTURE

The world loses almost six million hectares of forest each year to deforestation. That’s like losing an area the size of Portugal every two years. And around three-quarters of this deforestation is directly attributable to agriculture. To respond to this problem, From Sand to Green (FSG) has developed a nature-based solution for transforming deserts into farmland. Read more

A PILOT PLAN FOR GREEN AMMONIA PRODUCTION

A century ago, a growing population pushed farmers to grow crops faster than nitrogen-fixing bacteria in the soil could keep up, and supplies of natural nitrates began to run out. In response, Fritz Haber and Carl Bosch developed a process to react hydrogen and atmospheric nitrogen under pressure to make ammonia for use as fertiliser. But in solving one problem, they caused another one – making ammonia in this way takes a lot of energy. Now, a new process for making green ammonia may once again come to the rescue. Read more

Words: Matthew Hempstead

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