ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the dualistic discourse and policies in Morocco as well as the technological determinism which often accompanies such discourse. It starts with a historical review of agricultural development in Morocco. The chapter presents two case studies on the diffusion and use of drip irrigation in collective projects and discusses findings regarding farmers' practices of drip irrigation in Morocco more generally. The dualist prism that has dominated agricultural development discourses entails technological determinism, just as it critically depends on this type of determinism. The National Irrigation Water Saving Program (PNEEI) which started in 2007 with the ambitious objective of converting 550,000 ha from surface irrigation to drip irrigation led to widespread dissemination of drip irrigation. The state-managed Gharb irrigation scheme, located in northwest Morocco, is the largest scheme in the country and has recurrent water service crises. The irrigation service has long been undermined by technical and institutional difficulties.
