The Rose of Kalaat M'Gouna: A Moroccan Local Product Seeking Sustainable Development
Khadija Bratti
ABSTRACT
The rose constitutes an emblematic terroir product of the Mgoun and Dadès valleys. Its evolution has been closely linked to the economic and social transformations experienced by these two territories. Over time, both production and consumption models have undergone profound changes, leading to the emergence of a plurality of actors within the value chain. This dynamic has been accompanied by new rules and strategies for value appropriation, resulting in a fragmented territorial system marked by tensions and conflicts of interest.
At the same time, the state has intervened to frame and regulate the sector through agricultural policies, notably under the second pillar of the Plan Maroc Vert. While this intervention aims to enhance the value of terroir products, it has also intensified ongoing transformations and increased the complexity of the territorial system. In this context, the conditions required to integrate the rose sector into a coherent territorial project capable of generating sustainable territorial development remain constrained.
This article seeks to examine the major transformations shaped by rose production in the Dadès and Mgoun valleys, as well as to assess the role of public agricultural policies in promoting terroir products. It is structured around the following questions: what structural changes has the rose sector undergone? Have cooperatives contributed to reducing the monopoly exercised by companies over this product? To what extent can the rose generate an integrated economic dynamic within a production chain connected to other sectors?
To address these questions, the analysis draws on selected findings from a field study conducted in the two valleys as part of a scientific collaboration between the Faculté des Lettres et Sciences Humaines de Marrakech, the Université Mohammed V à Rabat, and the Université de Montpellier. As the study was primarily based on interviews, the analysis presented here relies on the qualitative interpretation of the data collected through this fieldwork.
