Overview

Livestock is a key livelihood source for rural households, with millions of smallholder farmers raising cattle, sheep, goats, and poultry. Large numbers of cattle, sheep, goats, and dromedaries graze extensive rangelands. Animals serve as a financial reserve, providing income and security, especially during droughts. Droughts are a recurring challenge in Morocco, significantly impacting livestock farming. With climate change intensifying, understanding and mitigating these effects is more important than ever.

Recognizing this urgent reality, Morocco has made greenhouse gas emissions reduction a national priority, demonstrated through its updated Nationally Determined Contributions in 2021, which targets a 45.5 percent reduction in emissions below business-as-usual levels by 2030, including an unconditional 18.3 percent reduction based on national resources.

Since the early 2000s, the government has developed a strong climate policy framework, including the Low-Carbon Strategy for 2050, the Green Morocco Plan (2008–2020), and the Generation Green 2020–2030 program. These are supported by the National Strategic Adaptation Plan, biomass strategy, and silvopastoral strategy, along with Morocco’s participation in the Global Methane Pledge. While not all policies directly target agricultural methane, they support sustainable livestock development and climate-smart use of agricultural by-products.