This article examines three Moroccan irrigation projects – the Sebou project in the Gharb plain, the Souss project in the hinterland of Agadir, and the Massa project in the foreland of the Anti-Atlas – in order to show some of the planning mistakes that were made. Special attention is paid to the question of why the fellahin often did not follow the government’s cultivation regulations. Only one of the three projects, the Sebou project, proved to be successful; the Souss project, although not yet completed, was at least problematic, and the Massa project was a complete failure. Among the planning mistakes made were: the natural resources of the area were overestimated; the project was implemented in an authoritarian way; the cultivation regulations were risky; the land tenure system was not adapted to the new farming system; and the sprinkler technique was not suited to local tradition. Bibliogr.
