Morocco - Investing in collective action: opportunities in agrifood cooperatives

Book excerpt: This study aims to provide a better understanding of how cooperatives can contribute to the development of the agriculture sector and rural areas in Morocco and what policy changes and areas of investment could be considered to better enable this. It is dedicated to policy decision-makers, development partners and potential institutional investors in the agriculture sector in Morocco. The study seeks to provide answers to the following key research questions: (i) What are the distinctive features of cooperatives in Morocco? (ii) What role can cooperatives potentially play in the development of the agriculture sector and rural areas? (iii) How have current policies supported cooperatives in playing that role? and (iv) What are the opportunities to provide a more enabling environment for cooperative development? These questions are used as background to assess the policy and institutional environment in which cooperatives operate, to explain some of the current characteristics of cooperatives in Morocco, and finally to identify key opportunities and issues which should be addressed by policy decision-makers, development partners and investors, in order to benefit the agriculture sector as a whole.