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Tuesday 26 May 2020

Agriculture/Fisheries: Market Supplied with Different Products at Stable Prices Despite Quarantine, Minister

Vocal synthesis
Agriculture/Fisheries: Market Supplied with Different Products at Stable Prices Despite Quarantine, Minister

The departments of agriculture and fisheries have ensured the supply of the market with various products at reasonable and stable prices, despite the epidemiological situation and quarantine restrictions, said, on Tuesday in Rabat, Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, Rural Development, Water and Forests Aziz Akhannouch.

Professionals in the agricultural sector, from all categories, have made great efforts since 2008, the year of the launch of the Moroccan Green Plan, underlined Akhannouch in response to a question at the House of Advisors, noting that these efforts have enabled the Moroccan agriculture to acquire strong immunity and a capacity for adaptation.

This period was a serious test for national agriculture, as the sector had to face two crises: the health crisis of the coronavirus and its socio-economic impact, and a crisis linked to climate change and its consequences in terms of water scarcity and irregular rainfall for three consecutive years.

The Minister affirmed that despite all the challenges, the agricultural sector succeeded in supplying the markets with various products of vegetable or animal origin thanks to the sacrifices and the professionalism of the actors working in this field.

Regarding the indicators related to the agricultural season, the government official assured that the current season faced unfavorable climate conditions, taking into account in particular the irregular aspect of precipitations. He said in this regard that about 50% of rains fell normally during the first four months of the season, from September to December, before ceasing at the end of the year, a period which was characterized by high temperature that affected various crops.

As of March and so far, the agricultural season has been marked by a decrease in rainfall to reach 103 mm as the national average and a national total rainfall of 253 mm, a decrease of 14% compared to the previous season, he explained.

In addition, given the state of the reserve of dams for agricultural use, the irrigation operation stopped pending the improvement of the reserves at the Souss Massa and N'fiss perimeters, said Akhannouch. In this regard, a "severe water deficit" was noted in the perimeters of Doukkala and Al Haouz, with the exception of N'fiss, and an average water situation prevails in the perimeters of Tadla, Moulouya, Ouarzazate and Tafilelt. Likewise, the water situation in Gharb and Lokouss is considered satisfactory.

Regarding the sowing of agricultural lands, Akhannouch noted that this is an area of ​​5.23 million sown hectares, of which 4.34 million were reserved for cereals. The harvesting operation should concern only 2.3 million hectares, knowing that the forecast harvest should total 30 million tonnes of quintals.

MAP 27 mai 2020