WASHINGTON, December 19, 2024 — The World Bank Board of Directors approved funding of $250 million for the Morocco Agri-Food Systems Transformation Program. This program aims to strengthen the resilience of the Moroccan agri-food system in the face of climate change, while improving food safety and quality.
The agri-food sector is crucial for Morocco’s economic growth, representing 16% of gross domestic product and 19% of total exports in 2023. It also plays a vital role in employment, with 67% of rural employment and 36% of rural employment. all jobs, including 30% in primary agriculture and 6% in agro-industry.
However, the sector faces major challenges due to successive years of drought, leading to a significant drop in production, particularly in the rainfed cereals sector, thus highlighting its vulnerability to climate risks. Given recent economic disruptions and current climate trends, the transformation of the Moroccan food system is becoming increasingly essential for stable and sustainable development, notably through increased and more efficient production, while minimizing negative impacts on resources natural resources and controlling greenhouse gas emissions.
The new program aims to strengthen climate resilience and risk management in rain-fed agriculture by promoting climate-smart practices, and improving water and soil management through conservation agriculture. It will help improve livelihoods and the quality of jobs by stabilizing yields and mitigating climate risks, notably through the promotion of no-till agriculture and increasing the area covered by agricultural insurance schemes. reformed.
This initiative will also strengthen food security, food quality and nutritional security by supporting the expansion of organic farming over 25,000 hectares, improving olive oil quality control, and mitigating food-related health risks at the distribution level thanks to improved health standards in approximately 1,200 food outlets. The program also aims to help farmers produce and market quality food, while increasing their income through better access to markets. It will also reduce food losses and waste, strengthen the capacities of the public and private sectors and raise awareness about nutritional security. In total, the program is expected to benefit 1.36 million people, including nearly 120,000 farmers and more than a million consumers, through improved food safety and nutrition.
« By supporting an ambitious scale-up of climate-smart agricultural practices, this innovative program supported by the World Bank will help Morocco create green jobs in rural areas and strengthen national food security, in line with the Generation Green 20202030 program. of the country “, declared Ahmadou Moustapha Ndiaye, World Bank Country Director for the Maghreb and Malta.
A $5 million donation from Liveable Planet Fund (LPF) will strategically strengthen the program, supporting small farmers, to implement an innovative system of decoupled incentives, facilitating their transition from conventional agricultural practices to climate-smart practices.
Related News :