Morocco is expanding its network of inter-basin water transfers as it looks to protect agriculture from water shortages, with a major new link between the Sebou and Oum Er-Rbia basins designed to move water from areas with greater availability toward regions facing heavier demand.
The planned connection forms part of Morocco’s expanding “water highway”, a national strategy built around transferring water between river basins rather than leaving regions to depend entirely on their own rainfall and reservoirs. The Sebou–Oum Er-Rbia phase is expected to extend for roughly 300 kilometres and have the capacity to transfer up to 800 million cubic metres of water a year.
Agriculture is one of the major beneficiaries. The project is expected to provide additional irrigation water for agricultural areas covering around 176,000 hectares, particularly around the Oum Er-Rbia basin, while also strengthening water supplies for Settat, Berrechid and southern Casablanca.
The strategy reflects a fundamental change in how Morocco is managing water after years of drought. The country experienced prolonged rainfall deficits that sharply reduced irrigation allocations, forcing authorities to prioritise drinking water in some periods at the expense of agricultural production. A World Bank assessment found that water allocations to several major irrigation areas fell by around 86% between 2018–19 and 2023–24 as drought reduced dam supplies.
Morocco is now trying to build greater flexibility into that system. Its first major inter-basin transfer between the Sebou and Bouregreg basins became operational in 2023 and has already moved hundreds of millions of cubic metres toward the Rabat–Casablanca corridor. The next stage extends the concept toward Oum Er-Rbia and the agricultural plains further south.
The timing is important even after Morocco's water situation improved in 2025-26. Better rainfall pushed national dam reserves significantly higher, but water use during the 2026 summer reduced reservoir levels from around 76% in mid-May to 67.5% by September 1. Reserves remained about twice their level a year earlier, but the drawdown illustrates how quickly irrigation, drinking-water demand and evaporation can consume gains made during wetter periods.
The water-transfer programme is therefore being developed alongside other sources, including desalination, dams and treated wastewater. Morocco's annual desalination capacity had reached about 420 million cubic metres by May 2026, with plans to increase it substantially as the country seeks to reduce its dependence on rainfall, dams and groundwater.
For agriculture, the objective is bigger than keeping fields irrigated. Reliable water allows farmers to plan planting more confidently, protect perennial crops and maintain production in regions where drought could otherwise cause sharp swings in supply. That stability matters for food availability and, ultimately, prices.
NBF Insight
Morocco is effectively building a national water network for agriculture: when one basin has water, another can receive it where the need is greater. That could make farming more resilient to rainfall shocks, but infrastructure is only one part of the solution. The real test will be whether Morocco can combine water transfers with efficient irrigation, crop choices, groundwater protection, and stronger water management. In a country where agriculture competes with cities and industry for a limited resource, moving water is becoming just as important as producing it.
