Leverage the prickly pear to adapt to climate change

Over-exploitation of water tables and the area’s inherent dryness combine to threaten rural populations with dire economic difficulties,  which is why it is so important to develop less demanding sectors, able to respond to the goals of the second pillar of the Green Morocco Plan.

Detailed assessments have demonstrated the many opportunities presented by the prickly pear in the agrifood, pharmaceutical and cosmetic sectors. On the strength of these results the social enterprise Atlas Inclusive Partners, with the support of the FFEM, plans to shake-up the sector using this largely-unexploited biodiversity through the Private Sector Innovation Facility (FISP). The goal is to improve the incomes of small-scale farmers while greatly reducing carbon emissions and water consumption.

The project comprises two components:

1. Reorganising the sectors through the creation of agrifood cooperatives and production units, supporting the initiative by promoting sustainable agriculture, improving productivity and training small-scale farmers.
2. Developing markets for the prickly pear through surveys and creating strong brands while building on distribution networks and working with financial and agri-food partners.
   
    

• Improving utilisation of water resources and combating desertification by promoting the cactus sector and training farmers.
• Developing an inclusive economic model fostering resilience to climate change.
• Enhancing farmers’ buying power by improving their margins.
• Combating the rural exodus by offering opportunities to the young.
• Preserving and passing-on expertise and know-how in the production, preparation and utilisation of Moroccan regional produce.

This project stands out because it leverages the seed and paddle of the cactus rather than the fruit itself, targeting as-yet unexploited co-products. It will limit excessive water consumption and over-exploitation of argan trees. It benefits from the support of FISP, the FFEM facility dedicated to the private sector, for the purposes of developing sectors emerging from biodiversity.

Partnerships with local organisations will enable local artisan production to re-orient itself toward markets with high growth potential. This business model may also be extended to other African sectors and countries.