"The future of the water sector in Morocco is marked by significant challenges, mainly due to the structural scarcity of the resource," Khattabi told MAP, recalling that increased demand and use, exacerbated by climate change, make the situation even more critical.

Citing the priorities listed in the Royal Speech, he stressed the need to relaunch the national debate on water and to integrate agricultural development strategies in rural development.

In this regard, the academic called for adopting a systemic and coordinated approach, based on the water-energy-agriculture nexus, and for promoting water sobriety and irrigation using desalinated water, especially for export-oriented crops.

Research and innovation, he said, "shall play a central role in developing resilient climate change adaptation techniques."