In Morocco hills, farmers are betting on a budding industry

FILE PHOTO: A farmer tends to dried cannabis bundle in Ketama, in the northern Rif mountains, Morocco March 12, 2021. Picture taken March 12, 2021. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo

RABAT: In the hills of northern Morocco, vast cannabis fields are ready for harvest, but farmers complain that a government plan to market the crop legally is yet to deliver them any benefits.

The marginalised Rif region has long been a major source of illicit hashish smuggled to Europe while Moroccan authorities, wary of social unrest, have often turned a blind eye.