Gharb-Chrarda-Béni Hssen (Arabic: الغرب شراردة بني حسين) is one of the sixteen regions of Morocco. It is situated in north-western Morocco. It covers an area of 8805 km² and has a population of 1,859,540 (2004 census). The capital is Kenitra.
The region is made up into the following provinces:
The region lacks of economic and geographic unity. In particular, while it resembles and is closely connected with the Loukos region which is administrated by the Tanger-Tétouan region, the Gharb is ruled from Kenitra with which it has little connections. Kenitra itself is integrated in the urban corridor extending South through Rabat and Casablanca to El Jadida.
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In ancient times this region was an element of Mauretania Tingitana, which was ruled in early times by the Phoenicians and later the Romans. Major settlements from this era were located at Volubilis[1] and at Chellah.
The Gharb is the second most important agricultural region of Morroco after Tadla. In 2001, there were officially 91,800 hectares irrigated plus about 20,000 hectares with pumps directly accessing the oueds. Together with the Loukos region it produces some 95% of Morroco's rice, 75% of the country's production of sugar cane, 50% of the oleaginous plants, as well as 65% of the strawberries exported by Morroco.
Historically the Gharb Basin has been developed for numerous agricultural purposes ranging as widely as eucalyptus farms to beekeeping.[2]
The colons under French rule (as further North under Spanish rule in the Loukos valley) were fully conscious of the region's production capacities and settled in the Gharb in large numbers. About 800 farms covered some 200,000 hectares (a fourth of the region's total). Two lesser urban centers arose from colonization: Mechra bel Ksiri and Sidi Slimane.
A number of factories have been created to process some of the Gharb's agricultural production. For instance, there are now five sugar refineries. The development of the Gharb region relies heavily on the dams Idriss I on the Inaouen River and Al Wahda on the Ouerrha both for electricity and irrigation. Headwaters for these rivers lie in the Middle Atlas region, where prehistorically the upper watershed supported much more vigorous and extensive forests, such that flooding was moderated and year round flow was increased compared to current times.
The center of the region is the most productive but the West along the Ocean is catching up quickly. On the other hand the South and East of the region remain marginal and pauperized.
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