PAASIFEJ: Results-Based Financing Driving Inclusive and Sustainable Rural Growth in Morocco

Funded to the tune of 2.4 billion dirhams, the PAASIFEJ aims to support smallholder farmers, stimulate women’s entrepreneurship, and open new opportunities for young people in seven regions of the Kingdom. However, its main innovation lies in its financing mechanism. Disbursements will be contingent upon the achievement of concrete, documented, and verified results on the ground.

After infrastructure, plantations, and the organization of supply chains, Moroccan solidarity agriculture is entering a new phase: that of measurable results. Officially launched this Monday by the Agency for Agricultural Development (ADA), in coordination with the African Development Bank (AfDB), the Support Program for Solidarity Agriculture for Women and Youth (PAASIFEJ) now aims to place value creation, employment, and economic viability at the heart of rural projects.

With a total budget of €216.3 million, or nearly 2.4 billion dirhams, the program benefits from €100 million in funding from the African Development Bank (AfDB), representing approximately 46% of its total allocation. Its implementation will continue until 2030 in seven regions: Tangier-Tetouan-Al Hoceima, the Oriental region, Fes-Meknes, Beni Mellal-Khenifra, Marrakech-Safi, Draa-Tafilalet, and Souss-Massa.

The stated ambition is to transform small-scale agriculture from a mere tool for supporting rural populations into a genuine driver of job creation, income generation, and sustainable economic activity in these regions.

PAASIFEJ: An even more inclusive approach

PAASIFEJ reflects a desire to move beyond a purely assistance-based approach to solidarity-based agriculture. It aims to enable small-scale producers to better integrate into value chains, while fostering the emergence of rural businesses in agricultural production, services, processing, and marketing. Particular attention will be paid to women.

The program plans, in particular, to support 700 women entrepreneurs in structuring their business plans, formalizing their activities, and developing their projects. Young people will also be able to benefit from training, support mechanisms, and new financing solutions to create agricultural or para-agricultural businesses.

For El Mahdi Arrifi, Director General of ADA, this new generation of projects must build on the lessons learned from Pillar II of the Green Morocco Plan. This initiative enabled the implementation of 999 projects benefiting some 730,000 people across the Kingdom. Since the launch of Generation Green, more than 200 new solidarity-based agriculture projects have also been launched, using a more localized approach. The next step is to better align agricultural investments with the economic and social realities of each region.

“It is no longer just about distributing equipment or launching plantations, but about building activities that are profitable and resilient enough to retain part of the working population in rural areas,” emphasizes the ADA’s director general.

Specifically, nearly 70% of the program’s resources will be dedicated to developing more sustainable and climate-resilient agriculture. The focus will be primarily on water management, restoring fragile ecosystems, and promoting more resilient crops. The PAASIFEJ program includes the development or rehabilitation of 160 kilometers of irrigation canals (seguias), as well as the construction of 150 water points and 30 rainwater harvesting systems.

It also includes the distribution of 15,000 head of livestock to rural households and the planting of 50,000 hectares of resilient tree species.

Results-Based Funding:

The main innovation of PAASIFEJ lies primarily in its funding model. Disbursements from the African Development Bank (AfDB) will be contingent upon the achievement of specific, documented, and independently verified results. Eleven indicators linked to disbursements have been selected. These include, in particular, the number of kilometers of irrigation canals rehabilitated, the areas planted, support for women entrepreneurs, program governance, and environmental and social monitoring.

In total, the system is based on 52 indicators. Eleven directly determine disbursements, while 41 others will be used to measure the program’s achievements and overall impact. The General Inspectorate of Agriculture will be responsible for verifying the results obtained. Only after this validation can the Ministry of Economy and Finance submit disbursement requests to the African Development Bank.

This mechanism aims to better link mobilized funding to the actual results observed on the ground. It also requires operators to strengthen their monitoring tools, document each intervention, and improve coordination between the national and regional levels. The first operations undertaken since the program’s launch in June have already covered 3,535 hectares of resilient plantations, 13.3 kilometers of irrigation canals, nine water points, and a stormwater collection system.

In total, 2,343 head of livestock were distributed and 63 women entrepreneurs received support. These initial results enabled the disbursement of 25% of the funding granted by the African Development Bank (AfDB). By the end of 2026, the African Development Agency (ADA) plans to mobilize an additional €34.9 million. The program’s success will depend on a governance structure comprising a National Steering Committee and a Program Management Unit.

These two bodies will be responsible for coordinating interventions, monitoring project progress, and ensuring that objectives are met. Quarterly environmental and social monitoring reports will also be produced. These reports will help identify any delays, measure the impact of implemented operations, and make necessary adjustments during the program’s implementation phase.

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(Featured image by Bernd 📷 Dittrich via Unsplash)

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First published in LES ECO.ma. A third-party contributor translated and adapted the article from the original. In case of discrepancy, the original will prevail.

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