The Tangier–Tétouan–Al Hoceima region is progressing in the structuring of its agro-industrial fabric with the inauguration of the Qualipôle Alimentation of the Loukkous Agropole. The ceremony, chaired on Saturday December 13, 2025 by the Minister of Agriculture, Maritime Fisheries, Rural Development and Water and Forests, Ahmed El Bouari, was held in the territorial commune of Zouada, province of Larache, in the presence of local authorities, regional elected officials and numerous economic players.
A strategic component of the Loukkous Agropole, the Qualipôle Alimentation is fully in line with the orientations of the Generation Green 2020–2030 strategy. It reflects the desire of public authorities to strengthen the downstream agricultural sectors through the consolidation of quality standards, health safety and the valorization of agricultural production, while supporting innovation and technological transfer for the benefit of operators.
In his speech, the minister recalled that agricultural development now relies on a close connection between the productive upstream and the industrial and commercial downstream. According to him, this complementarity constitutes a fundamental lever for creating sustainable added value, improving the competitiveness of the sectors and generating long-term jobs in rural areas. The Qualipôle Alimentation du Loukkous represents, as such, a structuring infrastructure intended to support agro-industrial investments and modernize processing chains.
The minister also underlined that this platform is part of a national network of seven agricultural centers deployed in the main production areas of the Kingdom. These integrated centers offer investors a developed environment, shared services and local support, promoting the emergence of projects with high added value and improving the overall productivity of the sectors. This system thus makes it possible to offer a true one-stop shop to private operators, simplifying their procedures and strengthening the attractiveness of agricultural areas.
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At a cost of 135 million dirhams, entirely financed by the Ministry of Agriculture, the Qualipôle Alimentation was built on an area of 2.23 hectares, including 7,200 square meters built. This investment covers all the infrastructure, equipment and specialized laboratories necessary to ensure sustainable and quality services for the benefit of professionals in the agri-food sector.
The Qualipôle brings together in the same space several key national institutions involved in the fields of quality, health safety and agricultural research. It notably hosts ONSSA, Morocco Foodex, INRA, as well as the Regional Center for Young Agricultural and Agri-Food Entrepreneurs. The whole is completed by modern common infrastructures including a reception center, training and conference rooms, a restaurant and an accommodation center, designed to meet the needs of operators and project leaders.
Beyond the Qualipôle, the Agropole du Loukkous stands out as one of the largest agro-industrial platforms in the country. Covering a total area of 150 hectares, it aims to structure agricultural value chains, improve the rate of production valorization and attract national and international investments thanks to land developed and adapted to industrial requirements.
The project is carried out by a development company created in 2022, bringing together the Regional Council of Tangier–Tetouan–Al Hoceima, MEDZ and Crédit Agricole du Maroc, as part of a public institutional partnership. The first phase of the Agropole, covering 53 hectares, has already been fully completed and marketed, while work on the second phase, covering an additional 50 hectares, will be launched soon.
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The overall consolidated cost of the Agropole–Qualipôle complex amounts to nearly 592 million dirhams, including land, development works as well as the construction and equipment of the Qualipôle Alimentation. Ultimately, the project aims to create 12,000 permanent jobs and generate an annual turnover estimated at nearly 4 billion dirhams, while contributing to better development of regional agricultural production.
With this new equipment, the Tangier–Tetouan–Al Hoceima region consolidates its positioning as a major agricultural territory, particularly in the red fruit, olive, oilseed, milk and market garden sectors. The Qualipôle Alimentation du Loukkous thus appears to be a structuring lever to support the upscaling of regional agriculture and strengthen its integration into national and international agro-industrial value chains.
