Developing a Composite Indicator for Agricultural Sustainability Assessment in the Fes-Meknes Region, Morocco

Abstract

Regional agricultural sustainability assessment has increased in popularity in recent decades. As a result, stakeholders are more involved in monitoring public policies’ effectiveness in promoting agricultural sustainability. In Morocco, agriculture is a strategic sector for achieving sustainable development, but measuring its impact on population well-being, economic development, and preserving the environment remains the missing piece that policymakers need to support their decisions. This paper develops a composite indicator (CI) construction method to measure regional sustainability with an application to the agricultural sector in the Fes-Meknes region (FMR). We extended the construction procedure to build CIs in five Moroccan regions to create a comparative basis for inter-regional agricultural sustainability performance. The Fes-Meknes region index (FMRI) results from aggregating 24 indicators selected based on their measurability, data availability, and relevance, normalised with the Min–Max procedure, equally weighted and compiled into a single index with a hybrid aggregation method. Results show that the FMR is moderately sustainable with a score of (0.55) and an intra-regional discrepancy concerning the global and dimensional performance of agriculture. The study highlights a need for governance tools and a participatory approach to support decision-makers and enhance regional democracy.