Morocco

Products.

Morocco is essentially an agricultural country. Of soo,000 sq.km. about 100,000-150,00o are cultivable, and 25,000-30,00o are effectively cultivated. The regions most favour able to agriculture are El Gharb, the valley of the Sbu, the prov inces of the Shawiya and of the Dukkala, the districts of Meknes and of Fez and the valley of the Werra. The natives cultivate chiefly cereals and trees. The cereals grown are hard wheat (six to seven million quintals), barley (seven to eight million quintals), maize (one million quintals), sorghum (300,00o quintals). The natives also grow beans, lentils, chick-peas, flax, hemp, coriander and cummin. The Berbers, like all Mediterranean peasants, are essentially orchard-growers; the chief fruit trees are the olive, the fig, the orange, the pomegranate and the almond. The most important olive groves are in the districts of Marrakesh, Meknes, Fez, Wazzan, Shishawen and the Werra. The almond is grown chiefly in the district of Marrakesh and of the Sus, the orange at Tetuan and Larache, the walnut in the high Atlas. In the Sahara the main cultivation is that of the date-palm ; the chief oases are those of Tafilelt and of the valleys of the Ziz, the Todgha, the Gheris, the Ferkla, the Dra'a and the Sus. The natives are stock raisers; cattle are reared chiefly in El Gharb and the Zaian (two millions in the French zone), sheep chiefly in the Tadla (nine millions). To these must be added goats (three millions), horses 200,000, especially fine in the Abda and the Chiadma, mules, and, in the Saharan region, camels.

In order to increase production, it is necessary first to intensify cultivation where it already exists, which could be effected, espe cially in the case of the cereals, by preliminary ploughing and by dry-farming ; by the use of machinery and manures—by better methods of pruning fruit trees and of raising cattle and sheep.

In the second place, it is necessary to increase the cultivated area, which, before the establishment of the protectorate, was extremely limited, owing to insecurity, to the absence of communications and to prohibition of exports. Finally, new crops might be intro duced: bread-wheat (700,00o quintals), potatoes and castor-oil are spreading, as well as market gardens (13,00o hectares). It does not seem profitable to develop the growth of the vine to any extent in Morocco, for it would be difficult for it to compete with the products of France and Algeria ; cotton, on the contrary, tried particularly at Berkane in eastern Morocco, seems susceptible of some extension. Experiments have been made in the growing of flax for fibre (up to the present it has been grown only for linseed), of sisal and of sugar-beet. Many plans for irrigation works, which would greatly increase the agricultural wealth, are being carried out ; they affect chiefly the Umm er Rbita, the Sbu, Wad Beht, the Muluya, and the torrents of the high Atlas.

Agricultural progress is linked with that of the European coloni zation. It has become possible for Europeans to acquire property only since the establishment of the protectorate. The system of registration of land has somewhat reduced the chaotic conditions of native proprietorship (65,000 hectares registered). Land held in common by a tribe is inalienable. Demesne lands may be sold and form lots of large, medium, or small colonization. There are

no free grants of land, and purchasers are under obligation to utilize the land bought. From 1918 to 1928 the office controlling agriculture has allocated, under these conditions, 190,00o hectares, in 1,100 lots. Altogether, the area owned by Europeans is 644,00o hectares, of which 608,000 are in French hands; but only a little of this is cultivated in European fashion. Forests occupy 1,900, 000 hectares; their chief product is cork. The value of the fishing of the Moroccan ports is nine million francs.

Magnificent deposits of phosphate of lime, the exploitation of which has been reserved to the Moroccan Government, have been discovered; they are superior to those of Algeria and Tunisia, and are practically illimitable in quantity. They are worked in the district of Wad-Zem, near Tadla, at Kurigha and at El Borudj; exploitation began in 1921, with 8,000 tons and now reaches 5,400,000 tons. Fine iron ores (haematite) are worked in Spanish Morocco, near Melilla in the district of the Beni-bou Ifrur (250,000 tons per annum). An important deposit of man ganese at Bu Arfa, west of Figig, is being exploited. Iron has been noticed in several other places, notably near Kenitra, lead and molybdenum in the high Atlas, zinc, copper and tin. Borings have been made for petroleum, notably near Petitjean; a small coalfield is being worked at Kenadsa, near Colomb-Bechar, on the Algerian frontier, and another has been found at Djerada, south of Ujda; but Morocco is still poor in mineral fuels.

Native industry is essentially home-industry; in spite of the encouragement it has received, it can barely survive European competition except in the making of carpets and Turkish slippers. The chief European industrial establishments are flour-mills, oil mills, electric power stations and manufactories of implements.

Communications.

Morocco possesses 5,000 km. of good motor-roads, which link the ports and connect them with the two capitals of Fez and Marrakesh and with Algeria. During the World War of 1914-18, a network of military railways (of o.6 metre gauge) was built, which greatly aided pacification and trade. This network is being gradually replaced by normal gauge lines. but it is still used for military operations in districts which are newly pacified, and as an adjunct to the ordinary railways in the other parts. The railways with normal gauge (I metre 44) in clude: (I) The line from Tangier to Fez, opened in 1927; it is 310 km. long, of which 15 are in the Tangier zone, Or in the Spanish zone and 204 in the French. (2) The line from Casa blanca to Fez runs through Rabat, Kenifra, Petitjean and Meknes; it is 322 km. long, of which III are on the Tangier–Fez line, which it joins at Petitjean. (3) The line from Casablanca to Marrakesh, finished in 1928, 25o km. long; at Ber-Rechid a branch line of 135 km. goes to Wad-Zem and to the phosphate workings. To complete essential arterial lines in Morocco the o•6 metre line from Fez to Ujda must be replaced by one of normal gauge. A minerals line is being built from Bu-Arfa to Ujda. In the Spanish zone narrow-gauge lines connect Larache to El-Ksar (36 km.), Ceuta to Tetuan (41 km.), Melilla to San Juan-de-las-Minas and to Tistutin (5o km.).