Life-saving rainfall in Morocco last October, which at times turned into devastating floods, awakened a glimmer of hope among farmers about the possibility of a better agricultural season. However, happiness only lasts for a while, after the official launch of the agricultural season, many factors predict the persistence of drought.
The same scenario repeating itself? About three weeks ago, the 2024/25 agricultural season was officially launched. This represents a major challenge for Morocco, which is banking on this campaign after several years of drought to achieve the growth objectives set by the government and welcomed by international institutions.
The Minister of Agriculture, Maritime Fisheries, Rural Development and Water and Forests, Ahmed Bouari, announced to Parliament the implementation of measures aimed at supporting the productive capacity of farmers, in particular through the provision of inputs such as seeds and fertilizers, development of production chains, irrigation water management, agricultural insurance and financing.
Will these measures be enough to save the agricultural season? The distress of farmers seems to be getting worse, this was recently revealed by Driss Bouhri, nurseryman based in Meknes at the specialist portal FreshPlaza: « Our sales in the fruit sector fell by 80% compared to a normal year”, he laments.
Nearly five years of relentless drought have plagued the kingdom, a situation that will certainly leave its mark. The persistent drought in Morocco has seriously impacted the demand for fruit plants, « demand is collapsing year after year, and we still see no way out”, describing the lamentable state of professionals in the sector.
Driss Bouhri, owner and manager of a nursery in Meknes, specifies: “This year marks a historic low for fresh fruit plants. Farmers in drought-stricken regions are massively abandoning certain crops such as apples and table grapes, whose orders have plunged by almost 90% compared to a normal year. All categories of fruit are affected: table grapes, pome fruits, citrus fruits, etc. Overall, our sales in the fruit sector have decreased by 80%.”.
And to continue: “ The regions concerned, such as Oriental, Agadir, Marrakech, Errachidia and Doukkala, have recorded a continuous decline in demand for fruit plants for a decade.”.
Faced with this crisis, Bouhri observes a change in strategy among farmers, particularly small farmers, who now favor crops that use less water, such as olive trees and almond trees. Demand for these plants has also increased in recent years.
According to a previous statement by Mohamed Sadiki, former Moroccan Minister of Agriculture, “the country’s current water reserves are enough to irrigate only 400,000 hectares of autumn and winter crops, compared to 800,000 hectares in a normal year. Except for the Loukkos region (in the northwest), all Moroccan regions are experiencing severe and persistent water stress.”.
Despite the recent rains of the last two months, Bouhri prefers to remain realistic: « The water table is dry, and there is very little snow. It would take several consecutive years of heavy rainfall to truly revive fruit production”.
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