Morocco and Quebec Deepen Agricultural Innovation Ties Through Agtech Partnerships

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A Moroccan delegation representing the country’s agricultural and innovation sectors visited Quebec on Wednesday as part of an initiative aimed at developing new partnerships in agricultural technology.

The delegation toured Zone Agtech, a Quebec-based innovation and entrepreneurship hub that brings together research facilities, laboratories, companies and agricultural stakeholders working on technologies and plant-based bioproducts.

The mission brought together representatives of Domseeds, the corporate venture capital and venture studio of Domaines Agricoles, and Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P), alongside Quebec-based companies and innovation stakeholders.

The objective is to move beyond institutional exchanges and identify opportunities for joint projects, pilot programmes and technology partnerships between Morocco and Quebec.

Building a Canada-Morocco agricultural corridor

The initiative comes as agricultural businesses increasingly look beyond domestic markets for technology partnerships and commercial opportunities.

Marilou Cyr, director general of Zone Agtech, said the organization was seeking to establish international corridors that could help Quebec companies reach new partners and markets more efficiently.

Francophone countries are a particular focus, she said, because linguistic connections, existing economic relationships and shared agricultural challenges can facilitate cooperation.

For Quebec's agtech sector, Morocco offers an additional opportunity because of its position as a potential gateway to wider African markets.

Soulaf Slaoui, director of acceleration programmes at Zone Agtech, described Morocco as a promising market for Quebec agricultural technology companies. She pointed to technologies addressing challenges faced by Moroccan agriculture and said the country could also provide Canadian businesses with a strategic entry point into Africa.

From technology showcases to potential pilot projects

The Moroccan delegation met representatives from 11 Quebec agtech companies during the mission.

Their technologies cover a broad range of applications, including precision agriculture, artificial intelligence, clean technologies, horticultural production, resource management and automation. Other solutions focus on improving agricultural productivity and the sustainability of farming operations.

The emphasis of the mission was not limited to presentations. Delegates also visited greenhouses and farms specializing in berry production, allowing them to examine technologies under real production conditions.

Such field visits can help companies and potential partners assess whether technologies developed in one agricultural environment can be adapted to another.

That question is particularly relevant to Morocco, where farmers face challenges linked to water management, productivity, climate conditions and the need to improve resource efficiency.

Moroccan entrepreneurs strengthen the connection

The mission also highlighted the role of entrepreneurial networks linking Morocco and Quebec.

Several of the Quebec companies visited by the delegation are led or co-founded by Moroccan entrepreneurs or people of Moroccan origin. Their presence illustrates the human and business relationships that already connect the two ecosystems.

These networks can provide a practical foundation for technology transfers, investment and market development.

For Moroccan representatives, strengthening Canada-Morocco and Canada-Africa corridors could therefore generate benefits extending beyond individual commercial partnerships, particularly in scientific cooperation and agricultural innovation.

Connecting research, business and farming

The initiative brings together several parts of the agricultural innovation chain: technology companies, producers, researchers, investors and institutional partners.

The Moroccan delegation said the goal was to establish practical collaborations, accelerate the testing of innovative solutions and create lasting links between Canadian, Moroccan and African ecosystems.

For agricultural technology developers, partnerships with producers are particularly important. Technologies must often be adapted to local production systems before they can be deployed on a larger scale.

The involvement of universities such as UM6P adds another dimension by connecting commercial innovation with research and scientific expertise.

Go Global Québec expands international ambitions

The mission forms part of Go Global Québec, a programme implemented by Zone Agtech to help Quebec agtech companies expand internationally.

Zone Agtech serves as a platform connecting companies, farmers, researchers, investors and other partners with the aim of accelerating the development, commercialization and deployment of agricultural solutions.

The Morocco mission places that international strategy within a broader Canada-Africa context.

For both sides, the next step will be to translate meetings and demonstrations into concrete experiments, commercial agreements and research partnerships. If those links develop, agricultural technology could become a practical channel for strengthening economic and scientific cooperation between Morocco, Quebec and other African markets.