Drought: how the poultry industry is doing well

For several years, national agriculture has suffered a severe drought, which has impacted almost all sectors, particularly livestock. However, despite the increase in input costs, poultry farming is more resistant to climatic hazards and continues to ensure national self-sufficiency in this area, according to Finances News Hebdo. It shows continued growth despite the drought.

“The sector produced, in 2023, more than 745,000 tonnes of white meat and 6.1 billion eggs, meeting national demand. But the objective is to significantly improve these performances and aim for more ambitious targets“, we can read.

This ambition is confirmed by Ahmed Bouari, new Minister of Agriculture. “As part of the program contracts signed between the State and professionals, we aspire to reach one million tonnes of white meat and 8 billion eggs by 2030. These objectives can only be achieved by multiplying the investments and supporting operators throughout the value chain. New projects expected to create thousands of jobs», he explains, quoted by Finances News.

The sector generates an annual turnover of 41.5 billion dirhams and employs nearly 150,000 people. As part of the program contract included in Generation Greenit aims to accelerate its development, with a projected turnover beyond 50 billion dirhams and the creation of 140,000 additional jobs, thus bringing the total number of jobs to nearly 600,000.

In addition, the sector aims to invest in the export market. “National poultry farming has made major progress, despite constraints linked to rising production costs and drought. As part of the Green Morocco Plan, 14 billion dirhams have been invested in the sector. Ten years ago, our priority was to meet the needs of Morocco. Today, many companies in the sector are implementing development programs geared towards exports, particularly to African countries. From 10% to 15% of chick production is exported, not counting other poultry products.», Underlines Youssef Alaoui, president of the Interprofessional Federation of the poultry sector.

He adds that the development of the sector is supported by a program focused on the modernization of farms and the value chain. This includes improving distribution, packaging and processing networks as well as poultry feed production.

However, poultry farming faces significant challenges. Concerning animal feed, the sector remains dependent on the volatility of international prices, in particular for corn and soya, the main components, which are imported. It is therefore essential to use futures contracts to protect against price fluctuations, which directly impact production costs and breeders’ margins.