Increases in wages, pensions will concern FAR, Royal Gendarmerie, Auxiliary Forces and Civil Protection
Rabat - HM King Mohammed VI, Supreme Commander and Chief of Staff of the Royal Armed Forces (FAR), gave his instructions to the government to increase the wages and pensions of the members of the FAR, the Royal Gendarmerie, Auxiliary Forces and Civil Protection, said Wednesday a statement of the Royal Cabinet.
The Royal decision shows HM the King's commitment to improving the situation of all social categories of the Moroccan people.
HM the King chairs opening ceremony of International Agriculture Fair
Meknes - HM King Mohammed VI, accompanied by HRH Prince Moulay Rachid, chaired, on Wednesday in Meknes, the opening ceremony of the 6th International Agriculture Fair-SIAM, organized this year under the theme "Solidarity-based agriculture".
- The Sovereign handed certificates and trophies in recognition of
the distinguishing features of quality and origin.
- More than 800 exhibitors and some 750,000 expected visitors will take part
in the Fair.
At the beginning the ceremony, HM the King handed certificates and trophies to several personalities engaged in the development of the agriculture field in recognition of the distinguishing features of quality and origin.
Later on, the Monarch visited the different stands of the Fair, attended by 35 countries, including France as the show’s guest of honour.
The 2011 SIAM, which brings together 800 exhibitors, aims to promote the attractions and features of the local products to develop in a sustainable way the trade between local and international operators in the sector.
The theme chosen for the Fair, which runs until May 2, focuses on the second pillar of Morocco’s Green plan related to the solidarity-based support for the smallholder agriculture.
This large-scale agricultural development strategy, launched in 2008, is meant to support the smallholder farmers through the funding of 300 to 400 social projects in order to replace precarious activities with others of high added value and less sensitive to precipitation.
To mark the event, Morocco’s various regions have highlighted the diversity of their productions, while the international pavilions actively contribute to building a framework for solidarity-based exchanges and partnerships.
Built on an area of 10 hectares, SIAM provides an opportunity to establish partnerships between Moroccan and foreign professionals of the sector and highlight the potential of Moroccan agriculture and its role in the national economy.
Over 750,000 visitors are expected to visit the fair this year.
The first days of the fair, 27 and 28 April, are dedicated exclusively to professionals, before it opens to the general public from April 29 to May 1.
A series of conferences and panel discussions led by scientific experts and professionals from Morocco and abroad will take place as part in this Fair.
HM the King calls for striving doubly hard to achieve the ambitious goals of Morocco's Green Plan
Meknes - HM King Mohammed VI urged all those who have been involved in implementing Morocco's Green Plan to strive doubly hard to achieve its ambitious goals.
"The clear-cut strategy underpinning Morocco's Green Plan has identified working mechanisms in various areas relating to agricultural development. We shall continue to attach particular importance to the social dimension and, to this end, seek to promote agricultural activities that are based on solidarity," the Sovereign underlined in a message to the fourth Symposium on Agriculture, read out by Agriculture Minister Aziz Akhannouch during the event's opening ceremony on Tuesday in Meknes.
"To achieve this objective, we have used a participatory, inclusive approach that brings together all the stakeholders concerned with the various projects and extensive reforms we have launched, particularly Morocco's Green Plan. I should like, in this regard, to commend all those who have been involved in implementing this Plan and urge them to strive doubly hard to achieve its ambitious goals," the Sovereign went on to say.
Here is the full text of the message:
Praise be to God May peace and blessings be upon
The Prophet, His Kith and Kin
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It gives me great pleasure to send this message to the Fourth Symposium on Agriculture, and to reiterate the special importance I attach to developing the agricultural sector, increasing productivity and promoting competitiveness. This is a strategic sector which has a decisive impact on the sustainable human and economic development we wish to achieve in our country.
Agricultural development has always been high on our agenda. This is because the agricultural sector - which has multifarious implications - concerns the day-to-day life of all segments of the population, across all regions. It also plays a key role in securing social justice and a dignified life for all. Achieving rural development, improving the conditions of farmers - especially smallholder farmers - and providing jobs for young people are key elements of the Moroccan development model, in which economic efficiency must go hand in hand with social solidarity.
I am delighted such agricultural symposia are being held at regular intervals, thus offering a platform for consultation and debate. They also provide an opportunity to take stock of accomplishments and to identify impediments in order to pinpoint the measures that need to be taken in this vital sector while applying good governance standards.
To achieve this objective, we have used a participatory, inclusive approach that brings together all the stakeholders concerned with the various projects and extensive reforms we have launched, particularly Morocco’s Green Plan. I should like, in this regard, to commend all those who have been involved in implementing this Plan and urge them to strive doubly hard to achieve its ambitious goals.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The clear-cut strategy underpinning Morocco’s Green Plan has identified working mechanisms in various areas relating to agricultural development. I shall continue to attach particular importance to the social dimension and, to this end, seek to promote agricultural activities that are based on solidarity.
To give fresh momentum to our endeavours to achieve the Green Plan’s Objectives and, at the same time, to reflect my strong desire to improve the conditions of smallholder farmers and to fight poverty and marginalization in the rural environment, I call on the government to take the following measures:
First, alleviate the debt burden of smallholder famers vis-à-vis the Crédit Agricole du Maroc and reschedule the debts owed on the basis of equitable, objective criteria that specifically take into account the losses suffered by small farmers as a result of climate change;
Second, make it possible for these farmers to obtain new loans;
Third, exempt smallholders from charges for irrigation water for the years prior to 2008, up to a maximum amount of 10,000 MAD, cancel all interest on loans and reschedule the payment of any amount in excess of the above figure up to a maximum period of seven years; These measures will apply to some 200,000 poor smallholders and will have positive effects on them and their families.
Fourth, improve the conditions of agricultural workers, namely by raising the minimum wage;
Fifth, make sure the rural community and smallholder farmers are among the main beneficiaries of medical coverage and medical assistance programs, in accordance with a rational, precise and gradual approach;
Sixth, step up efforts to ensure all school-age children in rural areas, especially girls from remote and deprived regions, attend school, and to provide the conditions and basic infrastructure required to enable girls to pursue their education;
Seventh, continue to implement programs to reduce the isolation of regions that are far-away or hard to get to, and provide the basic infrastructure and social services needed in rural areas, especially by promoting the programs of the National Initiative for Human Development.
Eighth, increase public funds earmarked for the promotion of solidarity-based agriculture in recognition of its tangible impact on the modernization of the farming sector, enhance competitiveness, improve job opportunities and fight marginalization and precariousness;
Ninth, ensure good management of support measures for smallholders who suffer not only from climate change, but also from unstable economic conditions and changing international food markets.
Irrespective of the financial cost of these measures, I should like to emphasize that my primary goal is to make smallholders an intrinsic element of the human and rural development process as well as a pillar of agricultural development in our country. I have a great deal of respect for small farmers because of the values of devotion and hard work they stand for, and their steadfast attachment to land, whatever the circumstances.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am particularly keen to promote agricultural development and give strong impetus to Morocco's Green Plan. To this end, I ask the government to focus its action on the following key areas:
First, support the national program for the conservation of irrigation water, which aims to increase the surface area of arable land where localized (mini-sprinkler) irrigation techniques are used, bringing it up to 1,358.500 acres; to this end, alternative strategies - such as sea water desalination - and the policy of building dams should be encouraged and pursued in order to promote our agriculture on a sustainable basis.
Second, ensure optimal use of our diverse and renowned local products; all stakeholders should seek to protect these local crops and products and open up new prospects for their marketing and promotion, both domestically and internationally.
Third, encourage land aggregation by establishing the legal framework required as well as appropriate incentives; provide greater support for small-scale farming given the important role it plays as the main supplier of local products and as the pillar of social and economic development in certain peripheral areas where no alternative resources are available.
Fourth, organize and support organic farming, a sector in which our country could be quite competitive. Efforts should be stepped up to lay down a suitable legal and technical framework that helps us promote and diversify our exports, improve the quality of our organic products, and preserve both the environment and biodiversity.
Fifth, provide agricultural courses and continuous training: lay down modern communication and consultation mechanisms for the benefit of stakeholders given the special importance of this aspect in developing our country's agriculture.
I therefore call on the government, the public institutions concerned and all the actors involved to adopt a new vision for training and research in the agricultural sector. I want them to back the mission of chambers of agriculture through an optimal reform of their rules of procedure, to enable farmers to benefit from counseling services, and to make these services a key element in the promotion of Morocco's Green Plan.
Sixth, enhance the Green Plan's regional dimension to respond to farmers' needs in all sub-sectors, taking into account the specific characteristics of each region, as part of our objective to enshrine advanced regionalization in the country's Constitution.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The future of our country's agriculture and food security hinges first and foremost on the commitment and hard work of our farmers and on our ability to identify niche markets. Individual and collective efforts are therefore needed to support this far-reaching national project.
We have accomplished a great deal in the agricultural sector. Important as it may be, this sense of achievement should compel us to strive harder in order to sow the seeds of a more prosperous future.
May Almighty God grant you every success.
Wassalamu alaikum warahmatullah wabarakatuh.
HM the King extends condolences to families of victims of Chtouka Ait Baha accident
Meknes - As soon as HM King Mohammed VI was informed of the tragic accident on Wednesday morning in Chtouka Ait-Baha province, which killed twelve people and seriously injured five, the Sovereign sent a message of condolences and compassion to the victims' families.
HM the King extended his heartfelt condolences and expressed his sincere compassion to the families of the victims in this ordeal, as well as his sympathy and wishes of quick recovery for the wounded.
The Monarch will pay for the victims' burial expenses and the health care costs of the wounded.
HM the King ordered local and medical authorities to take the necessary measures to assist the victims and their families.
Eleven women and the driver died on the spot when a small van carrying female farmers collided head-on with a pickup in the Touaamal village, rural commune of Ait Amira.
No details are available on the causes of the accident.