SEEDING SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE

Morocco’s agribusiness is under mounting pressure amid soaring inflation and climate-driven weather variations. Rita Maria Zniber, Chairman and CEO of agribusiness group Diana Holding, is taking the lead in transitioning to a more sustainable ecosystem.

- SAMAR KHOURI

Agriculture is a serious business in Morocco. After all, the sector accounts for more than 10% of the North African country’s total economic output and 30% of the workforce. Agricultural produce, such as citrus fruits and market vegetables, are among its top exports.

But the country has been facing severe drought and an economic crisis precipitated by global inflation and made worse by the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, pressuring its export-led agricultural model. “Drought and climate change have affected us dramatically in these last five years, especially in the oriental part of Morocco where we have our citrus business unit,” says Rita Maria Zniber, Chairman and CEO of agribusiness group Diana Holding. “We have to innovate in irrigation and are looking forward to the building of desalinization plants. We are also still recovering from the Covid crisis and the disruption of logistics chains as well as the Russia-Ukraine war.”

The agri-food group directly employed 7,200 people and had a consolidated turnover of $342.4 million amid the Covid-19 crisis in 2020. This rose to $441.7 million in 2022. An IPO may be on the cards in the future. “Why not? We’re looking for that because we have the proper governance for that,” Zniber shares.