03 Mar Morocco-EU Relations: What’s at Stake for Farm to Fork Workers? Social Transformations and Food Security
On Monday 10 February 2025 the DignityFIRM consortium was a guest at partner University Ibn Zohr, Faculty of Languages, Arts and Human Sciences (FLASH) of Ait Melloul in Morocco. The topic of this one-day public event was “Morocco-EU Relations: What’s at Stake for Farm to Fork Workers? Social Transformations and Food Security”.
After a warm welcome by the Dean of the FLASH, Abdelkhaleq Jayed, vice-dean Abdelkader Mellouk and Prof. Hanane Darhour, DignityFIRM Principal Investigator Prof. Tesseltje de Lange (Centre for Migration Law Radboud University) kicked-off the event. Important guests were our partners from the other Associated Country in the DignityFIRM project: Ukraine, Iryna and Yevgeniia from EwB. Like Morocco, Ukraine is an important trading partner of the EU in agricultural products. While due to the ongoing war migration into Ukraine is currently not very topical, the contribution of Temporary Protected people from Ukraine to farmwork in the EU is considerable, as are exports from Ukraine.
Following welcoming words, our partner Alberto-Horst Neidhart, Head of the European Diversity and Migration program at the European Policy Centre delivered opening words.
Neidhart addressed ideas for connecting research to policy on migrant workers and EU- Morocco Relations. An important take-away from his address is the growing importance of Morocco as a mid-power as well as its consolidated role as trading partner for the EU, crucial source of agricultural products. In Morocco-EU relations, the Union should explore opportunities for making the cooperation as balanced, coherent and attractive as possible, which will become more necessary in the context of growing ‘transactionalism’ in international relations. From a EU’s perspective, the European population is declining, farmers are aging and promoting mobility between the EU and Morocco could help address labour shortages in the EU, despite renewed attention on irregular migration. From the Moroccan side, migration cooperation considerations are just one among many other priorities, alongside territorial sovereignty, sustainability, energy and trade. The situation of irregularly staying migrants and working conditions in Morocco and Europe, will depend on developments on all these fronts, not just migration policy, also calling for a transformative approach to policymaking and cooperation, and a systemic examination of challenges and potential benefits for all communities involved.
Before introducing the next speaker, Prof. De Lange complemented Neidhardt and said the DignityFIRM project calls for the EU to build campuses, not camps, to see the (long-term) benefit of cooperation towards a common future.
The next session kicked-off with a contribution by the distinguished Mohamed CHAREF, Member of the Committee for the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families and regional Representative of Regional Human Rights Council in Agadir. His presentation was on “The international rights of migrant workers at the heart of agriculture and agri-food”. He stressed the long history of cooperation agreements between Morocco and EU on mobility. Moreover, aging due to which, in short, agriculture could not subsist without migration yet there is also the problem of migrant workers’ isolation and the racism they face due to the rise of the nationalist and far right politics in Morocco and the EU. At the same time, there is an increasing demand and dependence on migrant workers, and employers’ perspectives push for more soft line migration policies. Also, the international legal framework leading Morocco in its new position underscores it is not just a sending country but also a country of destination.
Two IOM representatives Hicham HASNAOUI and Mohamed MARFOQ, then contributed with an insightful presentation of “IOM’s role in Morocco and the current dynamics of local/national policies and migration trends”. Mr. Hasnaoui and Marfoq discussed the different roles of IOM and its collaboration with different stakeholders. Notably, they pointed out that the majority of migrants circulate within Africa, with a significant number being women and children. They also stressed that migration is a human right and that efforts should not aim to deter migration but rather facilitate better integration for migrants especially in Inzegane and Chtouka Ait Baha, where many immigrants are unaware of their rights and available resources, unlike their counterparts in Agadir. They emphasized the cultural enclaves formed by migrants and the necessity for them to adapt to Moroccan society for improved integration.
This first session was concluded by Prof. Reda EL FELLAH, Professor of International relations at the University of Ibn Zohr. His analysis of “intersections between EU-Morocco partnerships in migration and agriculture” touched on the complex interplay between agriculture and migration policies. There is a need for trade liberalization, and awareness of the interdependence between the EU and Morocco. Moreover, he spoke on food sovereignty of Morocco and the fact that climate change sees an increase of migration (to Morocco, not necessarily onwards to the EU). Also some sensitive issues were mentioned, such as the CJEU decision on the fisheries. Specifically on small farmers, who are leaving Morocco to work as seasonal workers in the large agribusinesses in the EU, El Fellah stressed the need for decent social working conditions and rights. Remittances are not a magic justification for small farmers leaving.
After a healthy lunch, Siham MARROUNE (UIZ) chaired a session on Morocco-EU Farm2Fork partnership & the labour market. We had the honor to be joined (online) by Aurelia SEGATTI in her capacity as an ILO Migration and Mobility Specialist for North Africa and the Horn of Africa (covering Mauritania to Soumalia), who spoke about ILO’s approach to Labour migration in the agricultural sector. She provided context and shared key statistics, particularly the 2024 ILO global estimates based on 2022 data. She also highlighted international labor standards, including the ILO’s fundamental conventions and other up-to-date instruments of particular importance. She then addressed approaches and intervention models that the ILO has developed for rural populations, offering an overview of policy guidance notes on the promotion of decent work in the rural economy, including infrastructure and social protection dimensions. Additionally, she presented selected examples of intervention models and good practices, such as the ILO Employment-Intensive Programme (EIP) and the Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus (HDPN). She concluded by discussing prospects for ensuring equal treatment and adopting a market-based approach for migrants and refugees.
Gautier GAMBA, Representative of the Democratic Labour Organization (ODT) in Agadir, brought the local experience to the table with a presentation on “Labour conditions of migrant workers in Agadir”. He began by expressing his gratitude to the Moroccan state and His Majesty King Mohammed VI for the residency permit initiative, from which he himself has benefited. He highlighted the importance of ODTI’s work in improving the situation of migrant workers, both documented and undocumented, by providing training to facilitate their genuine integration into Moroccan society. He concluded by addressing another key dimension—the realities on the ground, particularly in the Souss-Massa region. He emphasised that a single trade union across Morocco would not be sufficient to address the challenges faced by migrant workers. Instead, he stressed the need for a broader national and European strategy to support the establishment of additional trade unions and to advance regularisation efforts.
Finally, Maud JULLIEN, Investigative journalist and reporter (online) conducting collaborative investigations with the Lighthouse Report, focused on highlighting key issues such as human rights violations at borders, the creation of a European network to combat misinformation on migration, and the role of major actors in the food system. Her work also explores the surveillance industry and innovative journalistic techniques for reporting from post-conflict zones. She concluded by highlighting the externalisation of borders and well-documented migration control practices in North Africa.
The day closed with a Roundtable discussing the nexus F2F industries & social transformations & food security, moderated by Hanane DARHOUR and Rachid BENBIH (UIZ). Participants were Mohamed RAKI, Regional Manager, FOODEX Morocco, Tozan Bi Claude LANDRY, Secretary General of the Subsaharan Community in Ait Amira, Abdellah HOURI, Managing Director of Nature Growers, Member of the Chamber of Agriculture and Member of the Commune of Ait Melloul and Ahmed MOUFLIH, General Director of the Moroccan Interprofessional Federation for the Production and Export of Fruits and Vegetables FIFEL.
Mr. Raki, the regional manager of FOODEX Morocco’s Agadir, stressed that exports are one of the drivers of economic growth in the nation, particularly through food exports that necessitate more and more compliance to technical, commercial, environmental as well as social demands and exigences by the importing countries. Mr. Raki indicated that FOODEX Morocco is supported by the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development, Maritime Fisheries, and Water and Forests as a significant independent institution for export management and coordination. Working with the private sector, this public body covers fresh fruits and vegetables, processed plant items, and fish products. It is responsible for operational strategic monitoring, promotion, coordination, and quality control of these exports.
Mr. Landry addressed the circumstances of undocumented sub-Saharan migrants in his capacity as secretary general of the Sub-Saharan Community in Ait Amira. He drew attention to the struggles faced by several undocumented sub-Saharan migrants as a result of the long and exhausting workdays on the farms. He also expressed that another campaign of regularization would provide irregular migrants with a decent legal existence that would make them free from exploitation and vulnerability.
In his capacity as the managing director of Nature Growers, a member of the Chamber of Agriculture, and a member of the Ait Melloul commune, Mr. Houri talked about the agricultural productivity of the Souss-Massa region, which relies on Moroccan and sub-Saharan workers. He underlined that the majority of workers are employed irregularly due to the seasonality of production in the sector. At the same time, this seasonality of production affects the agricultural sector, which necessitates the availability of a stable and flexible workforce.
Mr. Mouflih, the general director of the Moroccan Interprofessional Federation for the production and export of fruits and vegetables (FIFEL), discussed the food processing procedures and those of the workers in the fields in Souss-Massa. He began by informing about the federation, which was founded in 2011 and consists of several professional associations that address the production, marketing, and promotion of agricultural products. Mr. Mouflih emphasized that although undocumented migrants operate in the informal agricultural sector, their irregular legal status prevents them from entering the formal sector through employment contracts.
Reflections from the organizers
Reflecting on the discussions we note that in agricultural policy, people might feel the topic of irregular migrant labour is outside their scope. Social policy has become part of the Common Agricultural Policy in 2025 through social conditionalities (on which DignityFIRM Manifesto nr. 1). However, that is inside Europe. The impact of EU policies on social standards outside Europe will be felt once the Regulation 2024/3015 on banning products from by forced labour comes into force (December 2027). Already, the European Directive on corporate sustainability due diligence obliges retailers in the European Union to improve social standards (and reporting) in their supply chain. In Morocco, the issue of irregular migrant work has become progressively visible in the public debate as a result of EU’s externalization of borders, due to which Morocco has started to become a country of settlement rather than a corridor of irregular migration. Despite the new migration dynamics on both sides, we consider that migrants’ aspirations should be the core of any future migration policies in Morocco or the EU.
In migration policy, the ongoing discussion between Morocco and the EU is often not about cooperation on a shared future towards food security, but about security and border control: a narrative of fear instead of opportunities. We remain prone to share and discuss our research findings with those responsible for designing more inclusive EU migration and cooperation policy.
Moreover, the DignityFIRM consortium is a strong advocate of talking across disciplines and with various societal actors. The Moroccan team organized this seminar and had research and policy (in the Moroccan local context) interact very productively. We brought business representatives and migrant organisations to the table (literally, we had a wonderful dinner together later in the week). Our research goes to show that partnership is needed to develop (long-term) solutions for the shared challenges ahead. As research community, we stand united to deliver input towards such solutions.
Prof. Hanane Darhour
Dr. Sihame Marroune
Prof. Tesseltje de Lange
Agadir / Nijmegen 20 February 2025