On Friday, May 17th, 2025, the Faculty of Law, Economics and Social Sciences (FSJES) of Ibn Zohr University in Agadir hosted a high-level roundtable on the theme “Challenges of the Cereal Sector in Morocco”, organized by the UIZ team of the STAPLES PRIMA project in partnership with the LAREFMO research laboratory.

The event was officially opened by Prof. Si Mohammed BOUAZIZ, Dean of FSJES, who welcomed the speakers to his office for a welcome cocktail. This informal exchange allowed for discussions around the university’s positioning and the relevance of the STAPLES project to both national and regional priorities.

The roundtable, chaired by Prof. Said AKRICH, STAPLES project coordinator, took place in the main conference room in the presence of over 100 Master’s and PhD students, who engaged with key experts in the field.

Keynote Speakers and Insights

Three major stakeholders in Morocco’s cereal value chain delivered presentations:

• Mouhcine El Moussaoui, Regional Director of SONACOS, highlighted the strategic importance of certified cereal seeds as a key driver of productivity, resilience to climate change, and food sovereignty. He also discussed current challenges such as low adoption rates, distribution constraints, and the need to expand national production and develop public-private partnerships.
• Khalifa Hmaidouch, representing the ONICL, presented the central role of the Office in market regulation and national cereal supply management. He addressed both global market disruptions (logistics, speculation, currency fluctuations) and the structural complexity of the domestic cereal chain, emphasizing the state’s regulatory instruments to stabilize the soft wheat market and ensure national food security.
• Mohamed Azzaoui, from the Souss-Massa Chamber of Agriculture, brought a regional perspective to the discussion, underlining the challenges of local organization, innovation, and support to agricultural entrepreneurship.

Objectives and Impact

This event aligns perfectly with the STAPLES project’s mission to strengthen the resilience of cereal value chains across the Mediterranean region. It successfully connected academics, institutional stakeholders, and professionals, while raising awareness among young researchers on the logistical, economic, and policy dimensions of the cereal sector.