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Traditional irrigation sector covering about 300,000 hectares accounts for about 20 percent of the total irrigated area in Morocco. Traditional irrigation schemes developed since immemorial times, although of rustic appearance, are managed according to sophisticated rules of water allocation and distribution. This paper discusses these rules which depend on the nature of water resources (springs, perennial flows and floods), crops and traditional water rights. The paper then presents the actions taken to improve performance of about 80 schemes including physical improvements and intensive training of user associations, while conserving traditional water rights. These works were carried out under the Irrigated Fruit-tree (PAF) Project financed by the Millenium Challenge Corporation (MCC), of which the original approach is the improvement of the value-chains of olive trees and palm-trees from the productivity of the trees to marketing. The project covers a total irrigated area of 53,000ha of which 20,000ha in oasis areas and 33,000ha in areas of small and medium-scale irrigation. Studies and works were carried out in very diverse area where each scheme has its own characteristics and the social environment responds to specific traditional rules. Copyright (c) 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.