Context :
Morocco is one of the 10 top producers of berries in the world and a key upstream supplier for Danone. Morocco produces around 140 000 tons of strawberries per year, mainly in the Gharb/Loukos areas. 83% of this production goes to the export market, 80% of which targets the food processing industry. Small farmers, owning less than 5ha and growing notably berries, account for 80% of the producers and contribute to 25% of Morocco total production volume. Each season, six hundred farms employ around twelve thousand workers.
The value chain is facing economic, social, and environmental issues making farmers and strawberries pickers vulnerable and threatening the farming long term sustainability.
Although local climatic conditions are favorable to the growth of strawberries, those require special attention and care. Strawberries are not water efficient and require the use of important quantities of plastic, phytosanitary products, as well as intensive labor. 1,5t of plastic is used per ha per year without being properly disposed nor recycled. Berries value chain is subject to employing seasonal workers, but work regulation and safety conditions compliance are not fully enforced for at least 50% of the workers. The sector is thus at the heart of important sustainable agriculture issues.
The national context is now enabling for sustainable growth projects. On the one hand, Morocco, which hosted the COP22 in 2016, promotes since 2008 an agriculture-based economic growth through the Plan Maroc Vert. On the other hand, exporters and buyers of Moroccan strawberries are increasingly demanding traceability on production conditions, both environmentally and socially. Finally, farmers themselves are seeking support to improve production conditions, in order to produce a fairer and more sustainable strawberry while increasing their margins.
Project presentation :
Launched in September 2017, the Frezna project aims to build a sustainable local strawberry production model in the Loukos/Gharb region. The project addresses the environmental, social and economic challenges of small and medium-sized farmers, as well as partners’ needs for sustainable and high-quality sourcing. A co-direction between the Association Danone Ecosystème, DanTrade, Dirafrost, Messem, Frigodar and GIZ, with the participation of farmers, allows a truly multi-stakeholder approach, ensuring long-term success. After five years, one hundred and forty-two farms or a quarter of strawberry Moroccan farms, are part of the program.
Objectives :
The objectives of the project focus on four key areas;
- Sustainable agricultural production
• To identify the most suitable sustainable agriculture practices to berries production in Morocco, hence ensuring the full compliance to Farm Sustainability Audits related to sustainable sourcing practices by the end of the project.
• To secure farm activity by increasing its gross margin, through higher yield and access to competitive prices
- Environmental impact
• To reduce water consumption by 20% and to implement better water usage practices
• To reduce pesticides usage by 30%
• To reduce CO2 emissions by re-capturing it into restored soil and limiting practices that release CO2 into the atmosphere. Ambition after the end of the project is to capture 6000T of CO2/year over 142 farms impacted.
• To implement waste recycling loop to ensure that plastic used on the farms is recycled at 75% by the end of the project.
- Workers’ social conditions
• To ensure that 100% of the workers are compliant with local labour law by the end of the project
• To ensure workers’ access to national social benefits and medical checks
• To reduce pickers’ turnover at the farm