AFP
Drought-tolerant cereal seeds, an alternative for the future in Morocco
“Look at these beautiful ears of wheat,” proudly exclaims Ethiopian scientist Wuletaw Tadesse Degu, inspecting a field near Rabat, sown with drought-tolerant seeds, which have become “essential” for a country threatened by climate change like the Morocco.The small rural town of Marchouch, 70 kilometers southeast of the capital, has housed since 2013, over an area of 120 hectares, a major experimental station of the International Center for Agricultural Research in Arid Zones (Icarda) which is developing varieties, particularly cereals, resilient to climatic hazards. Its fields of wheat and barley, green and with full ears, contrast with the critical situation of the country where the agricultural season is compromised by a sixth consecutive year of drought. Low rainfall has reduced the area sown with cereals from 3.7 million in 2023 to 2.5 million hectares forecast for 2024, according to the Moroccan Central Bank. This year, cereal production should be halved to 25 million quintals against 55.1 million in 2023, pushing the country towards more imports, according to the same Source. “The difference in quality between our land and that of other farmers is striking. It becomes essential to “adopt resilient seeds and deploy them quickly”, explains to AFP Mr. Tadesse, head of the soft wheat improvement program at Icarda, which has six laboratories and a gene bank in Rabat. – Potential – According to the Ethiopian expert, the potential of these varieties also lies in improving yield: in 2023, cereal productivity was on average one to two tonnes per hectare in Morocco. In Marchouch, it was four tonnes per hectare with only 200 millimeters of rain – half of what the region normally receives -, thanks to drought-resistant varieties but also to optimal agricultural management: choice of the right time to sow, adapted quantities and exceptional use of irrigation (10 mm of water on part of the 120 hectares). Barley production increased from 1.5 tonnes to two tonnes per hectare with resilient varieties in severe climatic conditions, underlines Miguel Sanchez Garcia, barley improvement specialist at Icarda. Enormous potential which arouses interest around the world. For wheat alone, more than 300 promising lines, developed mainly in Morocco thanks to crossing and gene transfer from wild wheat seeds and wheat ancestors, are sent each year to 90 national varietal creation programs around the world, indicates Ahmed Amri, researcher in genetic resources at Icarda. This agricultural research center is present in 17 countries in Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia. These promising lines are tested locally, at least over three years, and the most efficient are placed on the market. Over the last ten years, more than 70 wheat varieties resulting from Icarda research have been registered in several countries. – “Slowness of the system” -Last year, the kingdom approved six new varieties of wheat and barley but they have not yet reached farmers due to lack of a seed multiplication and distribution system “efficient”, according to Icarda researchers. Once the seeds have been approved, they are put into competition for the right to multiply, then once a company has acquired this right, the process takes five years.” “There is a slowness in the seed certification system that should be reviewed quickly,” concedes Moha Ferrahi, head of the improvement department of the National Institute of Agricultural Research. The Moroccan official also deplores the lack of involvement of the private sector which prefers to buy “foreign seeds to have a rapid return on investment while these seeds are not adapted to the climatic conditions of Morocco”. A significant shortfall for the kingdom, plagued by successive droughts, where a Moroccan consumes on average 200 kg of wheat per year, three times more than the world average, according to official data. “Unlike countries like Egypt or Ethiopia, Morocco has chosen market liberalization”, notes Mr. Amri, convinced that these shortcomings will be made up for by the national agricultural program “Green Generation 2020-2030”, with the increased adoption of new resilient varieties.kao/isb/fka/hme
