The economy of the town is mostly based on agriculture, the growing of olive trees being predominant.

According to some historical references, the Alaouite Sultan Moulay Ismail established the city in the 17th century.

The Sultan had aimed to found citadels and Quasbas to control the movements of mountainous tribes.

According to other sources, the city was known as the Arabs designations such as "Gaynou" Lagrare, and it was founded by the Almoravids as a project to monitor the road between Fes and Marrakesh, to populate the area and fight against Berghouata’s heresy.

Nevertheless, some manuscripts cite evidence that Saadian Dynasty founded the city in the late the sixteenth century and it was known as the designation "Kelaat Lagrare".