Morocco - Context and Land Governance

^{Aït Bouguemez Valley, High Atlas, photograph by Frank Vassen (CC BY 2.0)}

In 2021, Morocco had a population of 36.31 million, including 13.12 million in rural areas² (that is, only 36%). The population is unevenly distributed across the country, with around three quarters of the population living in five regions situated in the north.³ The Moroccan population is mainly divided between Arabs and Imazighen (in the singular, Amazigh),⁴  meaning "free men" or "noble men" in the Tamazight language.⁵ There are also minorities of Blacks from sub-Saharan Africa and Jews, who both have been present in Morocco for very long.

Over time, Morocco's rich history has shaped the way land is governed. The Islamization of the country, its colonization, and then its accession to independence successively transformed customary practices but did not entirely eliminate them. The different categories of land tenure that emerged at these different periods overlap and coexist to this day.

However, since 2010, the state has undertaken legal reforms affecting all aspects of land governance, with a particular focus on managing and securing customary and collective rights. Despite these legislative advances, the development of market agriculture, infrastructure development policies, and urbanisation often undermine these rights in practice.

In Morocco, the management of limited water resources is closely linked to land use. The development of irrigated agriculture puts considerable pressure on groundwater. Episodes of drought and chronic rainfall deficits linked to climate change also reduce agricultural yields.

Historical background

Before the advent of Islam, the Amazigh tribes ⁶ living in Morocco were not familiar with the notion of private property with defined boundaries, apart from a few areas where land was scarce or where water was controlled by irrigation. In the absence of strong state power, the tribes each had a local assembly (called a jmaâ in Arabic) to govern them, also managing various land access practices. The land a group occupied was determined by the amount of territory they could effectively conquer and defend, thanks to their demographic weight and military strength. Nomadic herders collectively owned grazing land and moved freely within the area controlled by their tribe, while farmland was managed by the family.⁷

With the Muslim conquest, which began in the 7th century, the land governance system gradually changed, although pre-Islamic customs did not disappear altogether. Islamic land law distinguishes between two types of land ownership: eminent domain (accessible only to the Muslim community represented by the sovereign), and usufruct (granted to tribes over the territory they occupied).

From the 12th century onwards, the sultan wielded control over land across Morocco, allowing him to impose a property tax. This system differentiated between religious communities: Muslims paid a minimal alms tax (zakat), while non-Muslims were subject to a hefty tax (kharaj) on arable land. However, as the conversion of the Imazighen to Islam led to a significant loss of income, the state carried out an initial land reform and decreed that, in the future, all kharaj land would retain this status regardless of the religion of its occupants.⁸

In March 1912, Morocco became a French protectorate. In November of the same year, Spain also established two protectorate zones in the south and north of the country. Spain's influence in these areas remained weak, however, with state control noticeably less extensive compared to French-occupied Morocco.

The French colonial administration adopted the concept of eminent domain, which it extended to increase its power without, however, seeking to privately appropriate all the country's land. With the royal decree (dahir) of 12 August 1913, France introduced a system of optional registration to protect private property, a system that almost exclusively benefited foreign acquirers. ⁹ The French administration also allocated official colonisation areas with tender specifications. ¹⁰ While seeking to develop capitalist agriculture by making land ownership secure and granting colonisation land, the colonial state also aimed at protecting the land heritage of the tribes to maintain them in rural areas and ensure order in the colony. Under the Dahir of 27 April 1919, the tribes thus became owners of their collective lands.¹¹

Ultimately, however, the introduction of collective property rights granted to the tribes reinforced colonial power over land. This is because the tribes exercised these rights under government trusteeship, with any decision (lease, sale, use of land revenues, etc.) requiring state approval. Although collective land is in principle inalienable, unseizable, and imprescriptible,¹² the colonial state could and often did acquire it for the purpose of establishing settlements. The French administration thus installed French settlers on kharaj land (which it called collective land from then on) in addition to land from its private domain.¹³

Morocco became independent from France and Spain and was established as a kingdom in 1956.¹⁴ Power was highly concentrated in the hands of the monarchy, which maintained the 1919 collective land tenure system. Without fundamentally altering the land tenure system inherited from colonisation, the independent state nonetheless proceeded to take over some 256,000 hectares of official colonisation land in 1963 and to expropriate private owners in 1973 (covering an area estimated at around 700,000 hectares at independence). After transferring colonisation land to its private domain, the state was supposed to redistribute it to Moroccan peasants, but this redistribution was only partial. Collective lands were not returned to the communities, but were placed under the authority of the Conseil de Tutelle (Trusteeship Council), a body chaired by the Minister of the Interior.¹⁵ Another part of colonisation land was allocated to cooperatives in the context of the 1966 agrarian reform, or was entrusted to state-owned companies (SODEA and SOGETA) for management.¹⁶ The state reproduced pre-colonial practices linked to the system of concessions and granted land as a means of rewarding and retaining the loyalty of its influential allies.¹⁷

From the 1990s onwards, neo-liberal reforms led to state retrenchment from the agricultural sector. In 2004, the government began to make land from the private domain of the state available to investors in the form of public-private partnerships. The 2000s also saw improvements in groundwater irrigation (using drip techniques and solar-powered pumping, for example), leading to greater efficiency and profitability. With the adoption of these new technologies, drylands that previously had low agricultural value have become attractive for new investment.¹⁸ However, while new land is being developed for agriculture, the expansion of urban areas is encroaching on fertile land in other areas.

Land tenure classifications

The Moroccan land tenure system comprises different land categories of pre-Islamic, Muslim, colonial, and post-colonial origins. Two broad regimes can be distinguished: the state domain and the non-state domain, each of which is made up of sub-categories.

The state domain includes the public domain of the state, the public domain of local authorities, the private domain of the state, the private domain of local authorities, and the forest domain.¹⁹ The public domain was established by the Dahir of 1917. The private domain of the state includes land registered in the state's name, recovered colonial land, expropriated land, declassified public or forest land, and land deemed vacant and ownerless.²⁰For the most part, the state's private domain was created when Act no. 1-73-213 of 2 March 1973 was passed to transfer ownership of agricultural property belonging to foreign individuals to the state (known as the Moroccanisation Act).²¹

For its part, the non-state domain consists of four types of land held under traditional law, all of which may be registered.

Collective lands represent one of the oldest forms of land use, stemming from customary law. These are the agricultural or pastoral lands detained by the tribes, which the Dahir of 27 April 1919, repealed by law 62-17, transformed into the permanent property of ethnic communities. These communities have legal personality, determine the rules of access to their land, and can have their land registered.²² However, individuals only have use rights that are in principle temporary and inalienable over a parcel of collective property, which is managed by a jmaâ composed of elected representatives (nouab). As the trusteeship authority, the Ministry of the Interior must approve any operation affecting the status of this land, including its registration.

These lands have gradually been divided up between a growing number of users. Furthermore, in irrigation areas, these lands are increasingly being transformed into melks (see below).²³ Nevertheless, according to a Ministry of the Interior census carried out in 2008, 5,043 collectivities comprising almost 2.5 million direct right holders²⁴ hold around 15 million hectares of collective land, confirming its importance for the Moroccan peasantry.²⁵ Most of this land is used for grazing livestock (12.6 million hectares) and, to a lesser extent, for agriculture (2 million hectares) and urban or peri-urban housing (350,000 hectares).²⁶

At the time, guich lands were offered by the sultan as a reward for military services rendered by the guich tribes (which means "army"). These lands are mainly located around the imperial cities of Meknes, Fez, Marrakech, and Rabat. Only around 200,000 hectares of guich land remain, mainly in the Marrakech region. Unlike collective lands, these belong to the private domain of the state. However, as with collective lands, the tribes to whom the guich lands are allocated only benefit from land use rights.²⁷

Land with habous status (in the plural ahbas) is donated in perpetuity by the faithful for the benefit of charitable works. In principle, land parcels under this regime cannot be sold, given away or bequeathed, and fall under the authority of the Ministry of Habous and Islamic Affairs. They comprise public, family, and mixed ahbas. Public ahbas include urban land and agricultural plantations whose purpose is to serve the public interest, notably religious. Family ahbas are plots of land set aside for designated beneficiaries, usually family members. When their beneficiaries die, the family ahbas are converted into public habous.²⁸ In mixed ahbas, one section of the land is dedicated to the general interest and the other to the family.

Privately-owned melk land was originally reserved for Arab settlers, but it became widespread from 1912 onwards under the impetus of the colonial administration. By the end of the French protectorate, more than two-thirds of cultivated land was already converted into melk.²⁹ Melk land currently accounts for 77% of Morocco's useable agricultural area, or 7 million hectares.³⁰

The owners of melk land either farm it individually or collectively in joint ownership.³¹ Rights to melk land may be formalised through land registration, or through recognition of possession by an adoul deed (known as a moulkia) established by two adouls (traditional notaries), based on the testimony of twelve people in accordance with the rules of the Malekite rite.³² Around 40% of melk land has neither a title deed nor a moulkia. The melk provides a stable right of ownership over land and allows transfers, leases, and even mortgages when it is registered.³³

Land legislation and regulations

Two laws clarifying and formalising land practices derived from Muslim law have recently been passed.

The Habous code was promulgated by Dahir no. 1-09-236 of 23 February 2010. This code brings together and defines the rules governing the creation, management, and dissolution of habous assets in accordance with the prescriptions of the Malekite rite and the requirements for efficient management.

In 2011, Morocco also adopted Act 39-08 on the Code of rights in rem. This legislation clarifies the rules applicable to registered and unregistered property. The provisions of this law have unified the customary rules and those of the Malekite rite concerning the possession, ownership, and management of property, particularly melk land.

After the country's independence, Moroccan legislation governing collective land ownership remained relatively unchanged, apart from the adoption of Dahir no. 1-69-30 of 10 joumada I 1389 (25 July 1969) relating to collective land located in irrigation schemes. This law encouraged the beneficiairies’ accession to property in these areas, a process known as melkisation (see below).³⁴

In 2008, the government adopted the Green Morocco Plan (PMV) to encourage the development of agricultural projects by private actors over 700,000 hectares.³⁵ Since then, the government has stepped up its support for intensive agriculture and melkisation. Following a national debate on collective land in 2014, a national conference on land was held in 2015 to discuss the state's land policy and Morocco's social and economic development more broadly.³⁶ The King announced his intention to transform into melk more than one million hectares of collective land (out of a potential fifteen million). This vision became a reality with the implementation of a US-funded Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) project aimed at developing a national land strategy and the melkisation of the Gharb and Haouz irrigation schemes.³⁷ The Dahir of 1919 was also being amended with the adoption of three new laws in August 2019.

Law no. 62-17 on the administrative supervision of ethnic collectivities and the management of their assets: The first law states that the collectivities may continue to apply their customs and practices if they comply with the laws and regulations in force. The text also reaffirms women's right to use collective land and their right to receive "financial resources arising from transactions involving community property." In other words, the law confirms the pre-eminence of legal rules over local rules without, however, proscribing them altogether.

The law introduces an important change by authorising the melkisation of agricultural land, i.e. its individual appropriation outside collectivities. Article 17 of the law allows the partition of collective agricultural land into "divided or undivided property belonging to one or several members of the community concerned, both men and women." This law gives collective landowners the possibility of transforming bour land, i.e. non-irrigated land, into melk. The law also allows them to receive compensation in the case of leases, sales, and partnerships with private investors.

The law also authorises the private appropriation of collective land by private or public economic actors outside the collectivities for the purpose of carrying out investment projects. Therefore, the law broadens private access to land, which previously mainly occurred through leases.

Furthermore, the law clarifies the duties of the representatives sitting on the delegates' assemblies (the nouabs) and provides mechanisms to remove representatives who fail to fulfil their responsibilities. Although the state retains supervisory powers over collective land, the law creates a provincial Trusteeship Council at the level of each prefecture or province. This council is responsible for approving the list of rightful claimants drawn up by the assembly of delegates and for adjudicating disputes between ethnic communities.

Although it is legally possible to transform non-irrigated land into melk, melkisation has so far focused on 67,000 hectares of irrigated areas as part of the MCC pilot project. Property rights over these lands are granted in joint ownership.

^{Fortress town of Ouazarzate, photograph by ER Bauer (CC BY-ND 2.0)}

Law 63-17 on the administrative demarcation of ethnic collectivities’ land: This law, as its name suggests, clarifies the procedures for demarcating collective land, i.e. "fixing its boundaries, surface areas and material content, and clarifying its legal situation."³⁸ The law simplifies demarcation procedures and reduces the time limit for objecting to the demarcation operation from six to three months.³⁹

Law 64-17 on collective land located in irrigation areas: The scope of the third law is more limited. It applies to 337,237 hectares of irrigated land, with the aim of transferring ownership of this land to entitled parties on the condition that they carry out agricultural projects minimally covering five hectares.

In addition to these legislative changes, the Moroccan administration has embarked on a process of digitising land information, in particular land registration and mapping operations. Between 2016 and 2022, the Agence Nationale de la Conservation Foncière, du Cadastre et de la Cartographie (National Agency for Land Conservation, Cadastre and Cartography - ANCFCC) issued 913,700 land titles in rural areas alone.⁴⁰

Land use trends

The size of rain-fed cultivated areas in Morocco is declining the due to desertification, increasing water shortages, urbanisation, and an ageing population.⁴¹ By contrast, irrigated agriculture is expanding.

Urbanisation is mainly taking place on "lowland land with high agricultural potential that is already irrigated or could easily be irrigated," as the construction of buildings and road and water infrastructure is less costly on plains than on the slopes of valleys.⁴²

Grazing lands are also subject to the degradation of ecosystems, water scarcity, and the over-exploitation of fodder by herds. Communal management of the land is threatened by public policies and market logics that encourage the privatisation and individualisation of practices. Traditionally, extensive livestock farming has relied on free access to collective, melk, and state-owned land for grazing. But access to these lands for livestock farming is dwindling. As noted, collective land is increasingly being converted to farmland, a trend amplified by government policies that see grazing areas as a land reserve for agricultural expansion. For their part, state-owned forests are increasingly being "closed off or integrated into protected areas" where grazing is prohibited to protect them. In response to the increasing scarcity of grazing areas, livestock farmers are adopting short-term practices to feed their herds that depart from customary practices. More generally, with its strategy of aggregation to limit the fragmentation of properties, the Green Morocco Plan (Plan Maroc Vert) is encouraging the concentration of land in the hands of large-scale farmers to the detriment of smallholders.⁴³

Another trend is the increasing grabbing of collective land by the right holders themselves. The latter illegitimately appropriate grazing areas for individual farming through the duplicity of certain nouabs," or state authorities, which generates internal conflicts within the collectivities. The "grabbers," who are often wealthier families with tractors to plough the land, are gradually expanding their fields by planting olive trees on grazing land that used to be accessible to everyone in the community.⁴⁴

These changes in land use and the agrarian social structure are further exacerbated by the effects of climate change. For the past few decades, Morocco has been experiencing "structural water stress." Irrigation-based agriculture, which is growing vigorously, is putting considerable pressure on water resources. In all, 42% of the 1.5 million hectares of irrigated farmland in 2012 used groundwater. The widespread adoption of modern irrigation equipment and illicit abstraction are leading to the over-exploitation of groundwater reserves, even though drip irrigation allows more rational use of water.⁴⁵ The shortage is such that the government is rationing water and halting production in irrigation areas to prioritise drinking water.⁴⁶  The 2023-2024 agricultural season was marked by a 54% decline in rainfall compared with the average for the last forty years, also leading to a 44% reduction in agricultural areas usually cultivated.⁴⁷

Investments and land acquisitions

Private investors in the agricultural, real estate, industrial, and mining sectors increasingly covet communal land. Many collectivities lease or sell their land, motivated by the compensation they receive in exchange. The state, invoking the principle of public utility, is also requisitioning these areas for infrastructure projects (urban hubs, housing areas, solar farms).⁴⁸ Land is either purchased by mutual agreement or expropriated in return for compensation.

Most projects run by non-state actors take the form of leases with tender specifications. The rent varies between 1,000 and 7,000 dirhams (between approximately US$100 and US$700) per hectare per year, depending on the region. The rental period varies according to the type of project: 12 years for seasonal crops, 20 years for livestock projects, and 40 years for tree plantations.⁴⁹ In 2022, 55,000 hectares of collective land were made available for lease, including 11,293 hectares that were effectively allocated.⁵⁰ These leases are either privately negotiated between individuals or are part of government programmes, such as the one to promote the irrigated cultivation of date palms on 17,000 hectares by private investors.⁵¹

 As mentioned, the state also leases agricultural land of its private domain to investors on similar terms. Contracts are for 40 years for plantations or agro-industrial infrastructure, and 17 years for annual crops and livestock. Land is leased at a cost of 2,000 dirhams (around US$195) per hectare, "plus a 20% discount granted by the state" The lease can be extended at the end of the contract.⁵² As part of the implementation of the Green Morocco Plan, at least 95,000 hectares of state-owned land were allocated under public-private partnerships between 2002 and 2013.⁵³ Several parcels were granted to the Moroccan economic and political elite, as well as to major foreign groups.⁵⁴ Although Morocco is seeking to encourage private investment in agriculture, in 2021 the government restricted the acquisition of land by foreigners.⁵⁵ Increasing water scarcity and droughts generate wider debates about the relevance of exporting agricultural commodities and, by the same token, virtually exporting water.⁵⁶

Community land rights

In the pre-colonial period, tribes collectively managed land according to the principles of customary and/or Islamic law. These communities enjoyed relative autonomy from the central government in the governance of land, rangelands, forests, and water. Traditional customary law (orf, plural aarafs) took different forms depending on groups, influenced in particular by their degree of geographical proximity and submission to the central government.⁵⁷

 The way in which land was distributed among the tribe’s families and the frequency of redistribution differed from one region to another. In some areas, land was distributed on an egalitarian basis (one share of land per household), while in others, such as in the North, the Imazighen distributed land according to ploughing capacity (one share of land per team of two draught animals owned, the zouja).⁵⁸

In mountainous regions, especially in the High Atlas, the Imazighen have developed a resource management system known as agdal to ensure the protection of these resources within a defined territory. Agdal involves "periods of opening and closing of the territory, according to the biological cycle of plants." An agdal can be community-based, whereby a social group asserts exclusive control over the resources of a territory. It can also be a frontier agdal when it is co-managed by several pastoral communities.⁵⁹

^{A man and his horse, photograph by: ErWin (CC BY-SA 2.0)}

Customary practices have endured through time in a more or less modified form. Before the 2019 law was passed, the collectivities had different rules for determining who was entitled to land. Among the aarafs in force, there were "those that included only men of full age, those that included all men including newborns, those that included women as well, others that excluded or included emigrants, that included or excluded unmarried men, etc."⁶⁰

Women's land rights

Before the colonial period, customary land management rules were not rigidly codified, but were based on group consensus and the case law of Muslim courts. Although women's access to land was generally more precarious than that of men, they were sometimes able to receive a plot of communal land without being widowed and were entitled to their share of inheritance, particularly in the Gharb region.⁶¹

However, in order to govern the territory more easily, colonial France imposed its conception of customary law and of the role of women, based on a rigid grid that did not correspond to reality. The legal concept of collective land introduced by the colonial administration cemented previously varied and flexible land allocation practices, thereby consolidating the power of men over women. For example, the law of 1919 allowed only "family heads" to obtain use rights over collective land, thus excluding women from access to land.⁶²

 ^{Amazigh women, photograph by Patrick Légeret (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 Deed)}

At the dawn of the 2000s, women began to mobilise to claim their rights to their tribe's collective lands. These demands emerged against a backdrop of increasing pressure on these lands due to urbanisation, land speculation, and the implementation of economic projects, all of which contributed to further marginalising women. Referred to as soulaliyates, the women belonging to this movement began by demanding a share of the income obtained from the rental or sale of collective land, which benefited only men. Then the objectives pursued by the soulaliyates broadened. They wanted a fairer distribution not only of the profits generated by property transactions, but also of access to collective land. They began a vast campaign of advocacy with the government, public demonstrations, and legal action.

The soulaliyates succeeded in having the legislation reformed through the publication of three circulars. Firstly, Ministerial Circular no. 2620 in July 2009 recognised the right of the women of Mehdia in the province of Kénitra to receive compensation when collective land is transferred or sold. Originally conceived as a pilot phase, this provision was generalised throughout the country with the publication of Circular No. 60 in October 2010. Finally, Circular No. 17 of 30 March 2012 includes women as right holders and guarantees their access to the usufruct of collective land.⁶³

There are, however, blind spots in the soulaliyates' discourse. They tend to invoke customary law as the source of their exclusion from land ownership, thereby ignoring the role of colonial legislation. They also do not call into question the control the Ministry of the Interior exerts over collective land, which has used the three circulars to reassert its power over these lands and position itself as a guarantor of gender equality.⁶⁴ Moreover, the soulaliyates anchored their claims to a share of collective land in patrilineal descent, which excluded "daughters who are linked to the clan only by their mother, the 'false soulaliyates'",⁶⁵ from the list of rightful claimants.

Despite the legislative changes, it took several years for women to be included on the list of right holders, due to the resistance shown by some delegates in the assemblies.⁶⁶ More recently, however, melkisation operations and agricultural extension projects in oasis areas are now including women in the lists of right holders.⁶⁷The Moroccan government has also broken new ground by creating a Centre d'Inclusion des Femmes au Foncier (Centre for the Inclusion of Women in Land Tenure - CIFF) in collaboration with the MCC. The centre has three main objectives: 1) to collect and analyse data on women's access to land; 2) to support women in exercising their land rights; 3) to support the formulation of public policies promoting women's land rights.⁶⁸

Urban tenure

Demographic growth is concentrated in cities, "due to rural exodus and the urbanisation of rural areas." Morocco has several large cities, six of which are home to more than a million inhabitants. Casablanca, the country's economic capital, alone has a population of 3.59 million.⁶⁹

Law 12-90 on urban planning stipulates that the Urban Development Master Plan, (le Schéma directeur d’aménagement urbain (SDAU), in French) must preserve high-potential agricultural and forest land in new urbanisation zones. Despite the existence of this law, various regulatory instruments (derogation, release of state-owned land, and transfer of use rights) have led to the conversion of farmland into urban residential areas.

Since 2000, the government has allowed derogations in urban planning, a practice that consists of authorising projects even if they do not comply with all the laws and regulations in force, thus allowing the urbanisation of land that would not otherwise be suitable for development. Initially, exemptions were granted in very specific cases, for major investments such as large development projects, public facilities or social housing.⁷⁰ From being an exceptional measure, however, "the use of the derogation quickly became a rule” employed to accelerate urban development. In fact, private developers frequently use the derogation for their building permits even though their real estate projects include very little social housing.⁷¹ In addition, derogations lead to the construction of housing in rural or peri-urban areas disconnected from the existing urban fabric, or even on agrarian reform land and land exposed to environmental risks. In short, the widespread use of derogations transforms urban planning laws into "mere consultative documents."⁷²

In 2005, the government also enacted the so-called "release" law, giving farmers who are members of cooperatives access to melk property. By granting them a right of ownership on state-owned land, the law aimed to encourage them to invest in their farms and thus improve their productivity. However, the law has had the unexpected effect of leading to the conversion of farmland into urban plots, with cooperative members massively selling off their new property.

In the 1990s and 2000s, the government set about destroying the country's shanty towns. However, public policies aimed at building social housing to resettle evicted residents have encouraged the urbanisation of communal farmland in peri-urban areas. In this case, the tribes cede their land use right in return for compensation. In the city of Meknes, for example, the state has acquired Guich farmland through the semi-public property company Al Omrane for the construction of social housing. However, supply exceeds demand, and many houses remain unoccupied.

While owners of melk land and members of cooperatives who have benefited from the agrarian reform can manage to obtain attractive prices when their land is sold, right holders of collective land have little room for manoeuvre when negotiating compensation from the state.⁷³

Land governance innovations

Innovations in water management enable the development of agricultural land. The Tiznit wastewater treatment plant (STEP) is conducting a pilot experiment to irrigate hundreds of farmland plots in the Souss-Massa region that were previously abandoned due to lack of water. Under the auspices of a team of researchers from the University of Applied Sciences Western Switzerland, the plant allows the cultivation of fodder crops through an ultraviolet wastewater filtration system that eliminates pathogens. The water is first treated by lagooning, before settling in a basin where pumps are installed.

^{Oasis in the Dades Valley, photograph by Gerardo García Moretti (CC BY-NC 2.0 Deed)}

The project, funded by the Moroccan Ministry of Agriculture, the municipality of Tiznit, and the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), recycles nutrient-rich wastewater that would otherwise be lost. In total, 83 farmers now have access to water to irrigate 665 plots covering 433 ha, spread over two areas, including the ancient oasis of Targa Nʼzit. The pricing system enables small farmers to buy water at half price, which helps them to continue farming.⁷⁴

Timeline - milestones in land governance

VIIe century: With the Muslim conquest, the customary system of land governance gradually became Islamic without disappearing completely.

1912: Morocco became a French and Spanish protectorate.

1913: France promulgated the Dahir of 9 Ramadan 1331 (12 August 1913) on land registration.

1919: The tribes became owners of their land with the adoption of the Dahir of 27 April 1919 (26 Redjeb 1337) organising the administrative supervision of Indigenous communities and regulating the management and alienation of collective assets.

1956: Morocco became independent from France and Spain and was established as a kingdom.

1963: The independent state recovered colonisation land.

1973: The government reclaimed land from private settlers.

2005: The so-called "release" law allowed farmers who are members of cooperatives to access melk property.

2008: The government adopted the Green Morocco Plan (PMV) to encourage the development of agricultural projects by private players.

2010: The state allowed women to receive compensation in the event of the transfer or sale of collective land.

2012: Circular No. 17 of 30 March 2012 included women in the list of right holders and guaranteed their access to the usufruct of collective land.

2019: The government introduced three laws amending the Dahir of 1919 to encourage the melkisation of land and stimulate agricultural investment.

Where to go next?

The author's suggestions for further reading

This report, produced by Omar Aloui and Anne Chohin-Kuper in 2023, covers several themes, ranging from the evolution of concepts and approaches to land ownership in Morocco, to a history of the land policies promoted by the state, to more recent developments linked to the rise of irrigated agriculture and the challenges posed by this new development model.

For those who enjoy listening to the radio, I suggest this episode of the Moroccan programme Les Rendez-vous de l'immobilier (The Real Estate Rendezvous), which provides an introduction to the different land tenure statuses in Moroccan law.

The reviewer's suggestions for further reading

The report by the Economic, Social and Environmental Council (CESE) entitled Le Foncier au Maroc: un levier fondamental pour le développement durable et l'inclusion sociale (Land tenure in Morocco: a fundamental lever for sustainable development and social inclusion) provides an analysis of land issues from a public policy perspective.

The study by legal scholar Fatiha Daoudi, entitled Droits fonciers des femmes au Maroc : entre complexité du système foncier et discrimination (Women's land rights in Morocco: between complexity of the land tenure system and discrimination), is one of the first articles to address the issue of women and land. The author describes how inequalities in inheritance law restrict women's access to land, whether melk, habous, guich or collective. Women's financial insecurity also limits their ability to buy or rent land.

Glossary of words of Arabic and Amazigh origin

Adoul: Traditional notary

Agdal: Collective pastoral territory subject to temporary protection; community management system over this territory

Ahbas: Plural of habous (aẖbâs in Arabic)

Amazigh: Term meaning ‘free man’, or ‘noble man’ thatBerbers use to designate themselves

Aarafs: Plural of orf, traditional customary law Bour: Non-irrigated land or crops

Dahir: Text of law bearing the seal of the King of Morocco

Guich: Army

Habous: Property belonging to mosques (Francized form of the Arabic ẖabûs)

Imazighen: Plural of Amazigh

Jmaâ: Assembly of a rural community

Kharaj: Tax levied on the land of non-Muslims

Melk: Movable or immovable property privately owned by one or more persons (from Arabic milk)

Melkisation: Transformation of land property jointly owned by an ethnic collectivity into private property owned individually

Moulkia: Deed stating that the holder of the deed has possesseda property for a certain period of time

Nouab: Representatives of the assembly of delegates managing collective lands (singular, naïb)

Orf: Traditional customary law

Soulali: Member of an ethnic group owning collective land

Soulaliyates: Feminine plural of the word soulali

Sultan: Muslim ruler of a state

Tamazight: Berber language

Zakat: Alms paid annually by Muslims

Zouja: A team of two draught animals and, by extension, the amount of land that can be cultivated by two animals in an agricultural season

References

[1] Alain Rochegude et Caroline Plançon. 2009. « Fiche pays Maroc ». Décentralisation, foncier et acteurs locaux. Comité technique "Foncier et développement". URL : https://landportal.org/library/resources/fiche-pays-maroc. Larousse. Maroc : géographie physique. URL : https://www.larousse.fr/encyclopedie/divers/Maroc_géographie_physique/185525.

[2] Aujourd’hui le Maroc. 2023. « Démographie : Les derniers chiffres du HCP sur la population ». 27 janvier. URL : https://aujourdhui.ma/societe/demographie-les-derniers-chiffres-du-hcp-sur-la-population.

[3] https://www.hcp.ma/Repartition-geographique-de-la-population-d-apres-les-donnees-du-Recensement-General-de-la-Population-et-de-l-Habitat-de_a1796.html#:~:text=La%20ville%20de%20Casablanca%20en,6%20personnes%20au%20niveau%20national.

[4] A glossary of words of Arabic and Amazigh origins used in this text is available at the end of the document.

[5] The Imazighen are often referred to as Berbers, but they designate themselves as Imazighen. The Imazighen were present in North Africa before the Arabs arrived.

[6] This is the term used in Morocco to designate the different cultural communities made up of lineages and allied families.

[7] Bouderbala, Négib. 1999. « Les systèmes de propriété foncière au Maghreb. Le cas du Maroc ». Politiques foncières et aménagement des structures agricoles dans les pays méditerranéens : à la mémoire de Pierre Coulomb (Cahiers Options Méditerranéennes; n. 36), dirigé par Jouve A.-M. et Bouderbala N., 47-66. Montpellier: CIHEAM. URL: https://landportal.org/library/resources/les-syst%C3%A8mes-de-propri%C3%A9t%C3%A9-fonci%C3%A8re-au-maghreb-le-cas-du-maroc. Gignoux, Stéphane. 2015. "Appréhender le droit marocain de l'immobilier : une approche transversale "droit privé - droit public"". Les Études et Essais du Centre Jacques-Berque (30):35. URL: https://landportal.org/library/resources/appr%C3%A9hender-le-droit-marocain-de-l%E2%80%99immobilier-une-approche-transversale-%E2%80%9C-droit. Zirari-Devif, Michèle. 2011. « Les terres collectives au Maroc », Yearbook of Islamic and Middle Eastern Law Online (30). 115‑130. URL: https://brill.com/downloadpdf/view/journals/yimo/15/1/article-p115_8.pdf.

[8] Omar Aloui et Anne Chohin-Kuper. 2023. Modes d’accès au foncier irrigué : cas du Maroc. COSTEA and AFEID. URL: https://landportal.org/library/resources/modes-d%E2%80%99acc%C3%A8s-au-foncier-irrigu%C3%A9-cas-du-maroc-note-de-synth%C3%A8se-pays. Bouderbala, Négib. 1999. "Land tenure systems in the Maghreb. Le cas du Maroc". Politiques foncières et aménagement des structures agricoles dans les pays méditerranéens: à la mémoire de Pierre Coulomb (Cahiers Options Méditerranéennes; n. 36), edited by Jouve A.-M. and Bouderbala N., 47-66. Montpellier: CIHEAM. URL: https://landportal.org/library/resources/les-syst%C3%A8mes-de-propri%C3%A9t%C3%A9-fonci%C3%A8re-au-maghreb-le-cas-du-maroc. Gignoux, Stéphane. 2015. "Appréhender le droit marocain de l'immobilier : une approche transversale "droit privé - droit public"". Les Études et Essais du Centre Jacques-Berque (30):35. URL: https://landportal.org/library/resources/appr%C3%A9hender-le-droit-marocain-de-l%E2%80%99immobilier-une-approche-transversale-%E2%80%9C-droit.

[9] Gignoux, Stéphane. 2015. "Appréhender le droit marocain de l'immobilier : une approche transversale "droit privé - droit public"". Les Études et Essais du Centre Jacques-Berque (30):35. URL: https://landportal.org/library/resources/appr%C3%A9hender-le-droit-marocain-de-l%E2%80%99immobilier-une-approche-transversale-%E2%80%9C-droit.

[10] At the time of the country's independence, 5,900 Europeans and 1,700 Moroccans shared nearly 1.3 million hectares of private and official colonised land (Swearingen 1987; in Omar Aloui and Anne Chohin-Kuper. 2023. Modes d’accès au foncier irrigué: cas du Maroc. COSTEA and AFEID. URL: https://landportal.org/library/resources/modes-d%E2%80%99acc%C3%A8s-au-foncier-irrigu%C3%A9-cas-du-maroc-note-de-synth%C3%A8se-pays).

[11] Protectorat de la République française au Maroc. Dahir du 27 avril 1919 (26 Redjeb 1337) organisant la tutelle administrative des collectivités indigènes et réglementant la gestion et l’aliénation des biens collectifs. URL: https://landportal.org/library/resources/dahir-du-27-avril-1919-26-redjeb-1337-organisant-la-tutelle-administrative-des.

[12] Inalienable land cannot be sold, transferred or made available to a third party. Land protected from seizure cannot be confiscated for debt collection, and therefore cannot be used as collateral for mortgage loans. The imprescriptible character of collective land means that rights over it are unlimited in time even if the land is left idle. See Zakaria Kadiri et Hassan Er-rayhany. 2019. « La politique foncière de privatisation des terres collectives à l’épreuve des réalités d’appropriations et des conflits ». Alternatives Rurales (7). URL: https://landportal.org/library/resources/la-politique-foncie%CC%80re-de-privatisation-des-terres-collectives-a%CC%80-l%E2%80%99e%CC%81preuve-des.

[13] Yasmine Berriane et Karen Rignall. 2017. « La fabrique de la coutume au Maroc : le droit des femmes aux terres collectives ». Cahiers du Genre no. 62 (1):97-118. URL: https://landportal.org/library/resources/la-fabrique-de-la-coutume-au-maroc-le-droit-des-femmes-aux-terres-collectives. Bouderbala, Négib. 1999. « Les systèmes de propriété foncière au Maghreb. Le cas du Maroc ». Politiques foncières et aménagement des structures agricoles dans les pays méditerranéens : à la mémoire de Pierre Coulomb (Cahiers Options Méditerranéennes; n. 36), dirigé par Jouve A.-M. et Bouderbala N., 47-66. Montpellier: CIHEAM. URL: https://landportal.org/library/resources/les-syst%C3%A8mes-de-propri%C3%A9t%C3%A9-fonci%C3%A8re-au-maghreb-le-cas-du-maroc.

[14] The land tenure system introduced by Spanish colonisation in Morocco has been abolished.

[15] Bouderbala, Négib. 1999. « Les systèmes de propriété foncière au Maghreb. Le cas du Maroc ». Politiques foncières et aménagement des structures agricoles dans les pays méditerranéens : à la mémoire de Pierre Coulomb (Cahiers Options Méditerranéennes; n. 36), dirigé par Jouve A.-M. et Bouderbala N., 47-66. Montpellier: CIHEAM. URL: https://landportal.org/library/resources/les-syst%C3%A8mes-de-propri%C3%A9t%C3%A9-fonci%C3%A8re-au-maghreb-le-cas-du-maroc. Gignoux, Stéphane. 2015. « Appréhender le droit marocain de l’immobilier : une approche transversale "droit privé - droit public" ». Les Études et Essais du Centre Jacques-Berque (30):35. URL: https://landportal.org/library/resources/appr%C3%A9hender-le-droit-marocain-de-l%E2%80%99immobilier-une-approche-transversale-%E2%80%9C-droit.

[16] Omar Aloui et Anne Chohin-Kuper. 2023. Modes d’accès au foncier irrigué : cas du Maroc. COSTEA and AFEID. URL: https://landportal.org/library/resources/modes-d%E2%80%99acc%C3%A8s-au-foncier-irrigu%C3%A9-cas-du-maroc-note-de-synth%C3%A8se-pays.

[17] Mahdi, Mohamed. 2014. « Devenir du foncier agricole au Maroc. Un cas d’accaparement des terres ». New Medit (4):2-10. URL : https://landportal.org/library/resources/devenir-du-foncier-agricole-au-maroc-un-cas-d%E2%80%99accaparement-des-terres.

[18] Omar Aloui et Anne Chohin-Kuper. 2023. Modes d’accès au foncier irrigué : cas du Maroc. COSTEA and AFEID. URL: https://landportal.org/library/resources/modes-d%E2%80%99acc%C3%A8s-au-foncier-irrigu%C3%A9-cas-du-maroc-note-de-synth%C3%A8se-pays.

[19] Tomczak, Nathalie, and Théo Saunier. 2022. État de référence social et Plan de gestion sociale préliminaire: Zone du Gharb. Rabat: Novec-Saftop-Taouhid. URL: https://landportal.org/library/resources/appui-technique-et-social-la-r%C3%A9alisation-de-l%E2%80%99op%C3%A9ration-de-melkisation-de-terres.

[20] Alain Rochegude et Caroline Plançon. 2009. « Fiche pays Maroc ». Décentralisation, foncier et acteurs locaux. Comité technique "Foncier et développement". URL: https://landportal.org/library/resources/fiche-pays-maroc.

[21] Mahdi, Mohamed. 2014. « Devenir du foncier agricole au Maroc. Un cas d’accaparement des terres ». New Medit (4):2-10. URL : https://landportal.org/library/resources/devenir-du-foncier-agricole-au-maroc-un-cas-d%E2%80%99accaparement-des-terres.

[22] Gignoux, Stéphane. 2015. « Appréhender le droit marocain de l’immobilier : une approche transversale "droit privé - droit public" ». Les Études et Essais du Centre Jacques-Berque (30):35. URL : https://landportal.org/library/resources/appr%C3%A9hender-le-droit-marocain-de-l%E2%80%99immobilier-une-approche-transversale-%E2%80%9C-droit.

[23] Bouderbala, Négib. 1999. « Les systèmes de propriété foncière au Maghreb. Le cas du Maroc ». Politiques foncières et aménagement des structures agricoles dans les pays méditerranéens : à la mémoire de Pierre Coulomb (Cahiers Options Méditerranéennes; n. 36), dirigé par Jouve A.-M. et Bouderbala N., 47-66. Montpellier: CIHEAM. URL: https://landportal.org/library/resources/les-syst%C3%A8mes-de-propri%C3%A9t%C3%A9-fonci%C3%A8re-au-maghreb-le-cas-du-maroc. Alain Rochegude et Caroline Plançon. 2009. « Fiche pays Maroc ». Décentralisation, foncier et acteurs locaux. Comité technique "Foncier et développement". URL : https://landportal.org/library/resources/fiche-pays-maroc.

[24] Direct right holders are community members with a use right over collective land. The rules governing how the list of right holders is established vary from group to group.

[25] Zakaria Kadiri et Hassan Er-rayhany. 2019. « La politique foncière de privatisation des terres collectives à l’épreuve des réalités d’appropriations et des conflits ». Alternatives Rurales (7). URL: https://landportal.org/library/resources/la-politique-foncie%CC%80re-de-privatisation-des-terres-collectives-a%CC%80-l%E2%80%99e%CC%81preuve-des.

[26] Benchanna, Ibtissam. 2023. « Terres soulaliyates : Un trésor équivalent à 90% du PIB national ». La vie éco. 20 janvier. URL : https://landportal.org/news/2024/03/terres-soulaliyates-un-tr%C3%A9sor-%C3%A9quivalent-%C3%A0-90-du-pib-national.

[27] Gignoux, Stéphane. 2015. « Appréhender le droit marocain de l’immobilier : une approche transversale "droit privé - droit public" ». Les Études et Essais du Centre Jacques-Berque (30):35. URL : https://landportal.org/library/resources/appr%C3%A9hender-le-droit-marocain-de-l%E2%80%99immobilier-une-approche-transversale-%E2%80%9C-droit.

[28] Bouderbala, Négib. 1999. « Les systèmes de propriété foncière au Maghreb. Le cas du Maroc ». Politiques foncières et aménagement des structures agricoles dans les pays méditerranéens : à la mémoire de Pierre Coulomb (Cahiers Options Méditerranéennes; n. 36), dirigé par Jouve A.-M. et Bouderbala N., 47-66. Montpellier: CIHEAM. URL: https://landportal.org/library/resources/les-syst%C3%A8mes-de-propri%C3%A9t%C3%A9-fonci%C3%A8re-au-maghreb-le-cas-du-maroc. Gignoux, Stéphane. 2015. « Appréhender le droit marocain de l’immobilier : une approche transversale "droit privé - droit public" ». Les Études et Essais du Centre Jacques-Berque (30):35. URL : https://landportal.org/library/resources/appr%C3%A9hender-le-droit-marocain-de-l%E2%80%99immobilier-une-approche-transversale-%E2%80%9C-droit.

[29] Bouderbala, Négib. 1999. « Les systèmes de propriété foncière au Maghreb. Le cas du Maroc ». Politiques foncières et aménagement des structures agricoles dans les pays méditerranéens : à la mémoire de Pierre Coulomb (Cahiers Options Méditerranéennes; n. 36), dirigé par Jouve A.-M. et Bouderbala N., 47-66. Montpellier: CIHEAM. URL: https://landportal.org/library/resources/les-syst%C3%A8mes-de-propri%C3%A9t%C3%A9-fonci%C3%A8re-au-maghreb-le-cas-du-maroc.

[30] Omar Aloui et Anne Chohin-Kuper. 2023. Modes d’accès au foncier irrigué : cas du Maroc. COSTEA and AFEID. URL: https://landportal.org/library/resources/modes-d%E2%80%99acc%C3%A8s-au-foncier-irrigu%C3%A9-cas-du-maroc-note-de-synth%C3%A8se-pays.

[31] Joint ownership refers to the exercise of rights by different persons over the same property without that property being physically divided.

[32] Alain Rochegude et Caroline Plançon. 2009. « Fiche pays Maroc ». Décentralisation, foncier et acteurs locaux. Comité technique "Foncier et développement". URL : https://landportal.org/library/resources/fiche-pays-maroc.

[33] Omar Aloui et Anne Chohin-Kuper. 2023. Modes d’accès au foncier irrigué : cas du Maroc. COSTEA and AFEID. URL: https://landportal.org/library/resources/modes-d%E2%80%99acc%C3%A8s-au-foncier-irrigu%C3%A9-cas-du-maroc-note-de-synth%C3%A8se-pays.

[34] Omar Aloui et Anne Chohin-Kuper. 2023. Modes d’accès au foncier irrigué : cas du Maroc. COSTEA and AFEID. URL: https://landportal.org/library/resources/modes-d%E2%80%99acc%C3%A8s-au-foncier-irrigu%C3%A9-cas-du-maroc-note-de-synth%C3%A8se-pays.

[35] Mahdi, Mohamed. 2014. « Devenir du foncier agricole au Maroc. Un cas d’accaparement des terres ». New Medit (4):2-10. URL : https://landportal.org/library/resources/devenir-du-foncier-agricole-au-maroc-un-cas-d%E2%80%99accaparement-des-terres.

[36] Zakaria Kadiri et Hassan Er-rayhany. 2019. « La politique foncière de privatisation des terres collectives à l’épreuve des réalités d’appropriations et des conflits ». Alternatives Rurales (7). URL: https://landportal.org/library/resources/la-politique-foncie%CC%80re-de-privatisation-des-terres-collectives-a%CC%80-l%E2%80%99e%CC%81preuve-des.

[37] These two perimeters are among nine created by the government since 1966, covering a total area of almost 683,000 hectares.

[38] Royaume du Maroc. 2019. Dahir n° 1-19-116 du 7 hija 1440 (9 août 2019) portant promulgation de la loi n° 63-17 relative à la délimitation administrative des terres des collectivités ethniques. URL : https://landportal.org/library/resources/dahir-n%C2%B0-1-19-116-du-7-hija-1440-9-ao%C3%BBt-2019-portant-promulgation-de-la-loi-n%C2%B0-63.

[39] Tomczak, Nathalie, and Théo Saunier. 2022. État de référence social et Plan de gestion sociale préliminaire: Zone du Gharb. Rabat: Novec-Saftop-Taouhid. URL: https://landportal.org/library/resources/appui-technique-et-social-la-r%C3%A9alisation-de-l%E2%80%99op%C3%A9ration-de-melkisation-de-terres.

[40] Asmlal, Amyne. 2023. « Le tout-digital, pour lutter contre la spoliation foncière ». Le 360. 28 juin. URL : https://fr.le360.ma/politique/le-tout-digital-pour-lutter-contre-la-spoliation-fonciere_RGSL5LRHZVDOBHU6EKFNXBQYXE/.

[41] Chaabi, Chady. 2023. « Souveraineté alimentaire : le foncier agricole, deuxième défi après la pénurie d’eau ». Médias24. 12 mai. URL : https://medias24.com/2023/05/12/souverainete-alimentaire-le-foncier-agricole-deuxieme-defi-apres-la-penurie-deau/.

[42] Élodie Valette et Patrick Dugué. 2017. « L’urbanisation, facteur de développement ou d’exclusion de l’agriculture familiale en périphérie des villes : le cas de la ville de Meknès, Maroc ». VertigO no. 17 (1). URL: https://landportal.org/library/resources/l%E2%80%99urbanisation-facteur-de-d%C3%A9veloppement-ou-d%E2%80%99exclusion-de-l%E2%80%99agriculture-familiale.

[43] Bruno Romagny, Mohammed Aderghal, Laurent Auclair, Hélène Ilbert et Sylvaine Lemeilleur. 2018. « Communs en crise. Agdals, terres collectives, forêts et terroirs au Maroc ». Revue internationale des études du développement no. 233 (1):53-73. URL : https://landportal.org/library/resources/communs-en-crise.

[44] Zakaria Kadiri et Hassan Er-rayhany. 2019. « La politique foncière de privatisation des terres collectives à l’épreuve des réalités d’appropriations et des conflits ». Alternatives Rurales (7). URL: https://landportal.org/library/resources/la-politique-foncie%CC%80re-de-privatisation-des-terres-collectives-a%CC%80-l%E2%80%99e%CC%81preuve-des.

[45] Omar Aloui et Anne Chohin-Kuper. 2023. Modes d’accès au foncier irrigué : cas du Maroc. COSTEA and AFEID. URL: https://landportal.org/library/resources/modes-d%E2%80%99acc%C3%A8s-au-foncier-irrigu%C3%A9-cas-du-maroc-note-de-synth%C3%A8se-pays.

[46] Baazi, Jalal. 2024. "Comment le ministère de l'agriculture gère la pénurie d'eau et l'inflation". Le matin. 14 January. URL : https://landportal.org/news/2024/03/comment-le-minist%C3%A8re-de-l%E2%80%99agriculture-g%C3%A8re-la-p%C3%A9nurie-d%E2%80%99eau-et-l%E2%80%99inflation.

[47] Kasraoui, Safaa. 2024. « Agriculture: Morocco Witnesses 54% Decrease in Rainfall Precipitation ». 16 janvier. Morocco World News. URL : https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2024/01/360164/agriculture-morocco-witnesses-54-decrease-in-rainfall-precipitation.

[48] Zakaria Kadiri et Hassan Er-rayhany. 2019. « La politique foncière de privatisation des terres collectives à l’épreuve des réalités d’appropriations et des conflits ». Alternatives Rurales (7). URL: https://landportal.org/library/resources/la-politique-foncie%CC%80re-de-privatisation-des-terres-collectives-a%CC%80-l%E2%80%99e%CC%81preuve-des.

[49] Benchanna, Ibtissam. 2023. « Terres soulaliyates : Un trésor équivalent à 90% du PIB national ». La vie éco. 20 janvier. URL : https://landportal.org/news/2024/03/terres-soulaliyates-un-tr%C3%A9sor-%C3%A9quivalent-%C3%A0-90-du-pib-national.

[50] Mzaghrani, Noura. 2022. « Terres Soulaliyate : 55.000 hectares proposés en location pour des projets d'investissement ». Le matin. 30 Septembre. URL: https://lematin.ma/express/2022/abdelouafi-laftit-lexploitation-gestion-terres-soulaliyates/381441.html#:~:text=Le%20ministère%20de%20l'Intérieur,à%20l'intention%20des%20investisseurs.

[51] Omar Aloui et Anne Chohin-Kuper. 2023. Modes d’accès au foncier irrigué : cas du Maroc. COSTEA and AFEID. URL: https://landportal.org/library/resources/modes-d%E2%80%99acc%C3%A8s-au-foncier-irrigu%C3%A9-cas-du-maroc-note-de-synth%C3%A8se-pays.

[52] Mahdi, Mohamed. 2014. « Devenir du foncier agricole au Maroc. Un cas d’accaparement des terres ». New Medit (4):2-10. URL : https://landportal.org/library/resources/devenir-du-foncier-agricole-au-maroc-un-cas-d%E2%80%99accaparement-des-terres.

[53] Cour des Comptes 2015, quoted in Omar Aloui and Anne Chohin-Kuper. 2023. Modes d'accès au foncier irrigué : cas du Maroc. COSTEA and AFEID. URL: https://landportal.org/library/resources/modes-d%E2%80%99acc%C3%A8s-au-foncier-irrigu%C3%A9-cas-du-maroc-note-de-synth%C3%A8se-pays.

[54] Mahdi, Mohamed. 2014. « Devenir du foncier agricole au Maroc. Un cas d’accaparement des terres ». New Medit (4):2-10. URL : https://landportal.org/library/resources/devenir-du-foncier-agricole-au-maroc-un-cas-d%E2%80%99accaparement-des-terres.

[55] Dahir n° 1-21-70 du 3 hija 1442 (14 juillet 2021) portant promulgation de la loi n° 62-19 édictant des dispositions particulières relatives à l’acquisition par des sociétés anonymes ou des sociétés en commandite par actions, des propriétés agricoles ou à vocation agricole à l’extérieur des périmètres urbains. URL : https://landportal.org/library/resources/dahir-n%C2%B0-1-21-70-du-3-hija-1442-14-juillet-2021-portant-promulgation-de-la-loi-n%C2%B0.

[56] Kuper, Anne Chohin. 2023. Hybridation des modes d’accès à la terre et à l’eau au Maghreb : une perspective historique. COSTEA - ACTION STRUCTURANTE FONCIER IRRIGUÉ AU MAGHREB. URL: https://landportal.org/library/resources/hybridation-des-modes-d%E2%80%99acc%C3%A8s-%C3%A0-la-terre-et-%C3%A0-l%E2%80%99eau-au-maghreb.

[57] Omar Aloui et Anne Chohin-Kuper. 2023. Modes d’accès au foncier irrigué : cas du Maroc. COSTEA and AFEID. URL: https://landportal.org/library/resources/modes-d%E2%80%99acc%C3%A8s-au-foncier-irrigu%C3%A9-cas-du-maroc-note-de-synth%C3%A8se-pays. Yasmine Berriane and Karen Rignall. 2017. "La fabrique de la coutume au Maroc: le droit des femmes aux terres collectives". Cahiers du Genre no. 62 (1):97-118. URL: https://landportal.org/library/resources/la-fabrique-de-la-coutume-au-maroc-le-droit-des-femmes-aux-terres-collectives.

[58] Le Coz, Jean. 1961. "L'opération-labour au Maroc: tracteur et sous-développement", Méditerranée, no. 3 (2): 3-34, https://doi.org/10.3406/medit.1961.1007. Zirari-Devif, Michèle. 2011. « Les terres collectives au Maroc », Yearbook of Islamic and Middle Eastern Law Online (30). 115‑130. URL: https://brill.com/downloadpdf/view/journals/yimo/15/1/article-p115_8.pdf.

[59] Bruno Romagny, Mohammed Aderghal, Laurent Auclair, Hélène Ilbert et Sylvaine Lemeilleur. 2018. « Communs en crise. Agdals, terres collectives, forêts et terroirs au Maroc ». Revue internationale des études du développement no. 233 (1):53-73.

[60] Zakaria Kadiri et Hassan Er-rayhany. 2019. « La politique foncière de privatisation des terres collectives à l’épreuve des réalités d’appropriations et des conflits ». Alternatives Rurales (7). URL: https://landportal.org/library/resources/la-politique-foncie%CC%80re-de-privatisation-des-terres-collectives-a%CC%80-l%E2%80%99e%CC%81preuve-des.

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Other resources

• Morocco country profile by the Arab Land Initiative