Participating organizations
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Context
The agrifood sector is vital for Morocco’s economy: 16% of gross domestic product, 19% of total exports in 2023 and 67% of rural jobs and 36% of all jobs.1 However, the sector faces significant challenges due to consecutive years of drought, leading to substantial production declines, highlighting its vulnerability to climate risks. Farmers cultivate cereal on 4.5 million hectares, equivalent to 80% of the country’s arable land. They often practice monocropping in rain-fed agriculture.2 Climate change is severely disrupting rainfall patterns in the region, with reduced rainfall affecting grain production by reducing yields and productivity, with negative impacts on farmers’ incomes.
of gross domestic product
of total exports in 2023
of rural jobs
of all jobs
Al Moutmir
Tourba
Ambition of the project
Phosphate-based fertilizer producer OCP Group and Mohammed VI Polytechnique University of Benguerir (UM6P) launched the Al Moutmir No-Till Program in Morocco in 2019, in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture, the National Institute of Agronomic Research, and 35 farmer organizations, to promote no-till farming.
Tourba, launched in 2022, is a nature-based solutions project developer incubated by OCP. Focusing on leveraging regenerative practices to generate high-integrity carbon credits, it operates in Morocco, Nigeria, Ethiopia and Brazil. The company’s mission is to transition 6 million hectares to conservation agriculture by 2030 by enabling farmers to adopt regenerative practices that drive both livelihoods and large-scale climate impact. Its efforts include the restoration of over 200,000 hectares across all geographies where it works, the training of thousands of farmers, and the creation of a pathway to generate high-quality carbon credits. The aim is to ensure strong co- benefits for rural communities.
The company’s mission is to transition
hectares to conservation agriculture
In Morocco, Al Moutmir and Tourba work in synergy to accelerate the uptake of regenerative agricultural practices, promote low-carbon farming, and improve farmer livelihoods. The Al Moutmir- Tourba partnership began in 2023, with Al Moutmir actively supporting the rollout of Tourba’s carbon farming initiative in Morocco. The partnership covers approximately 15,000 hectares and reaches 500 farmers (a subset of the program’s total). It supports the Government of Morocco’s National No-Till Plan, which aims to achieve 1 million hectares under conservation agriculture by 2030. A steering committee chaired by the Ministry of Agriculture and composed of core program partners leads this public-private partnership. These two flagship initiatives are part of OCP’s broader efforts to contribute achieve carbon neutrality by 2040.
hectares
farmers reached
achieve carbon neutrality
The program at a glance
Operating in six major agricultural regions, the program promotes practices to improve soil health, enhance carbon sequestration and improve farmer profitability, thus building climate- resilient farming systems. Tourba focuses on four practices aimed at reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and generating additional income streams for farmers through the issuance of high- integrity carbon credits:
Zero/reduced tillage
limit soil disturbance to store carbon, retain moisture and prevent erosion.
Crop residue management
leave at least 30%of residues to protect soil, conserve water and build organic matter.
Crop rotation
alternate crops, mostly with legumes, to improve soil health and reduce pest pressure;
Nitrogen management
Optimize fertilizer use to enhance soil carbon, reduce nitrous oxide emissions and improve environmental sustainability.
The partnership focuses specifically on the delivery of farmer training on the adoption of reduced tillage practices. It supports both small and medium-scale farmers (Al Moutmir’s key target) and large-scale farmers (Tourba’s primary beneficiaries) through tailored assistance. The program addresses farmer capital and capability barriers to the adoption of climate-smart agricultural practices across four pillars.
Financing model
Tourba leverages carbon finance as a core enabler of its model, mobilizing resources through the forward sale of carbon credits. This financial structure removes upfront cost barriers for farmers and ensures economic viability at scale. Tourba redistributes 65% of credit revenues to participating farmers, combining financial incentives with training and technical assistance.
Further, Tourba has established a partnership with GCAM for a dedicated financing scheme enabling farmers to access direct seeders via loans guaranteed by Tourba itself.
Tourba has committed between USD $7–12 million to its operations in Morocco, while Al Moutmir has made a separate investment of over USD $3 million. Though independently funded, both initiatives contribute to shared sustainability objectives in the country.
Tourba has committed between
-
to its operations in Morocco, while Al Moutmir has made a separate investment of over USD $3 million
Monitoring, reporting and verification
A digital monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) system tracks the initiative’s progress against agronomic, socio-economic and environmental objectives. Agronomists collect that data in the field, following the expert advice of a national steering committee made up of the initiative’s research and expert partners.
The quantification of soil organic carbon (SOC) uses a hybrid measure-and-model approach: stratified field sampling combined with the Rothamsted carbon model (RothC), using baselines based on three years of historical data. To maintain model accuracy over time, analysts resample soils every five years. In the rainfed smallholder systems where the Al Moutmir- Tourba partnership operates, there is limited data availability. The project thus works with national and international experts to adapt its model using extensive fieldwork, structured surveys, farm-level data collection, and peer-reviewed datasets of relevant to agroclimatic zones.
Tourba’s proprietary platform captures detailed, geotagged plot-level data, including crop types, residue cover (measured using rope protocols), fertilizer use, biomass and farming practices. This data feeds directly into the MRV system. Tourba’s project in Morocco is undergoing validation under Verra’s VM0017 (Adoption of Sustainable Agricultural Land Management) methodology, with registration expected in 2025. Tourba also completed a Verra-aligned Non-Permanence Risk Assessment, with a conservative buffer in place to manage potential reversal risks from climate or operational factors.
The program evaluates performance, builds evidence and adjusts practices in real time through the regular collection of technical and agronomic data to maximize impacts. It analyzes the data collected and presents and shares the results with partners and stakeholders to ensure knowledge sharing, guide strategic alignment and support scaling efforts. Tourba is in discussions with the Ministry of Agriculture to ensure the alignment of its MRV system with national efforts to track progress against the Moroccan No-Till Plan.
No-till practice trials promoted by both projects have shown yield increases of up to 23% compared to conventional tillage methods. A research study conducted by UM6P shows the potential to sequester 1.4 metric tons of carbon per hectare, highlighting the important role that conservation agriculture can play in climate mitigation. Initial results from the partnership show the program’s success: by shifting from conventional tillage to no-till farming, farmers have recorded an increase in profitability of over 54%. For farmers enrolled in the carbon program, these revenues can further increase profitability by an estimated 3–5%, depending on farm size and performance.
increases in yield were observed across both projects
metric tons of carbon per hectare
increase in profitability has been recorded by farmers
Table 2: Objectives and progress monitored per impact area
Endnotes
1 The World Bank Group (2024). New Program will Boost Climate Resilience of Agriculture and Quality of Food Production in Morocco [Press Release]. Retrieved from: https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2024/12/19/new-program-will- boost-climate-resilience-of-agriculture-and-quality-of-food-production-in-morocco.
2 International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) (2021). Morocco to Convert 1M ha to Conservation Agriculture - how ICARDA/INRA Fit In. Retrieved from: https://icarda.org/media/blog/morocco-convert-1m-ha-conservation- agriculture-how-icardainra-fit.
