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Rabat – Agriculture minister Aziz Akhannouch has announced the government will distribute 1 million hectares of land to small farmers to develop Morocco’s rural areas.
The government will call on the farmers to optimize the use of the land, Akhannouch said in a statement on the sidelines of the 11th horse show (Salon du Cheval) in El Jadida, a coastal city 100 kilometers southwest of Casablanca, on October 15.
Akhannouch described the initiative as a “takeoff for the rural world” in Morocco.
Akhannouch stated that all agricultural stakeholders are committed to achieving the “expected takeoff,” Maghreb Arab Press reported today.
In his speech on Friday at the opening of a new session of Parliament, King Mohammed VI stressed the need to boost agricultural employment to improve living conditions and consolidate stability in rural areas.
King Mohammed VI believes that providing employment for youth in rural areas, especially the rural middle class, could serve “as a lever” for the country’s economic and social development.
It is the only way to encourage young people “to remain on their land,” according to the King.
The King also affirmed that small farmers should be given ways to market their products to bypass speculators and mediators.
He also indicated the importance of using communal agricultural land (sulaliyat) for investment projects. It would “serve as a powerful lever for improved economic and social conditions, especially for rights holders.”
“This should make it possible to secure at least one million additional hectares of this land,” the King said.
