Ghafsai (Arabic: غفساي) is a town in Taounate Province, in the region of Fas-Meknas, Morocco. It is located in the Rif Mountains.[2] As of the 2014 Moroccan census, Ghafsai has 6,361 inhabitants.[1]

Ghafsai
غفساي
Town
Ghafsai is located in Morocco
Ghafsai
Ghafsai
Location of Ghafsai in Morocco.
Coordinates: 34°37′41″N 4°54′39″W / 34.6280°N 4.9109°W / 34.6280; -4.9109
Country Morocco
RegionFès-Meknès
ProvinceTaounate Province
Population
 (2014)[1]
 • Total
6,361
Time zoneUTC+1 (WEST)

History

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After being controlled by the Kingdom of Morocco in the previous decades, Ghafsai was within Spanish Morocco from 1912 to 1921,[3] and then the Rif Republic ruled over the Rif region, including Ghafsai, from 1921 to 1926.[4] In the Rif War of the 1920s Interwar Period, Ghafsai was within the warzone.[5] After the Rif Republic lost the war, the area returned under Spanish control.[6]

During the Ifni War in the 1950s, the Moroccan Army of Liberation used Ghafsai as one of their centers of operations against the Spanish and French.[7]

In January 2016, 18 urban development projects spanning over 22 hectares (54 acres) of land were announced to be in progress. Grants for a house relocation project totaled 8.63 million Moroccan dirhams, while the cost for a new sewage system was estimated at 47 million dirhams. Construction of a shopping center, a school, a sports complex, car parking area, economic development area, parks, a landfill, and an electrical network overhaul are also planned. In total, all of these new projects are estimated to add up to the cost of over 300 million dirhams.[8]

Geography

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Ghafsai is located in the Rif Mountains in the northern part of Morocco.[2]

Economy

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Ghafsai is one of the major producers of cannabis in Morocco,[2] but in recent years other agriculture and beekeeping ventures have developed also.[9] Faba beans and barley are also produced in Ghafsai.[10]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Population légale d'après les résultats du RGPH 2014 sur le Bulletin officiel N° 6354". Haut-Commissariat au Plan (in Arabic). Archived from the original (pdf) on 26 December 2018. Retrieved 11 July 2015.
  2. ^ a b c Raphael Chijioke Njoku (2006). Culture and Customs of Morocco. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 2. ISBN 978-0-313-33289-0.
  3. ^ "Treaty Between France and Spain Regarding Morocco". The American Journal of International Law. 7 (2 [Supplement: Official Documents]): 81–99. 1913. doi:10.2307/2212275.
  4. ^ Day, Richard B.; Gaido, Daniel. Discovering Imperialism: Social Democracy to World War I. BRILL. p. 549. ISBN 9004201564. Retrieved 14 September 2016.
  5. ^ Dirk Sasse (1 January 2006). Franzosen, Briten und Deutsche im Rifkrieg 1921-1926: Spekulanten und Sympathisanten, Deserteure und Hasardeure im Dienste Abdelkrims. De Gruyter. p. 129. ISBN 978-3-486-84018-6.
  6. ^ Douglas Porch, "Spain's African Nightmare," MHQ: Quarterly Journal of Military History (2006) 18#2 pp 28–37.
  7. ^ Douglas Elliott Ashford (8 December 2015). Political Change in Morocco. Princeton University Press. p. 201. ISBN 978-1-4008-7850-5.
  8. ^ "Plus de 300 MDH pour l'aménagement urbain de la ville de Ghafsaï". Medias24 - Site d'information. Retrieved 22 October 2016.[permanent dead link]
  9. ^ "Mieux que le bio, l'agroécologie". Telquel.ma. 16 July 2014. Archived from the original on 23 October 2016. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
  10. ^ Crop Genetic Diversity to Reduce Pests and Disease On-farm. Bioversity International. 2006. p. 36. ISBN 978-92-9043-726-0.