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Rabat – Morocco’s Agriculture Minister Aziz Akhannouch has said that subsidies from the Agricultural Development Fund are expected to reach MAD 4.2 billion ($460.11 million) in 2021.
On Monday, Akhannouch presented his ministry’s draft budget to the Committee on Productive Sectors at the House of Representatives.
He said that the 2021 action program provides for the establishment of new incentives as part of the implementation of the objectives of the “Generation Green” plan.
The strategy seeks to support young people and to enhance and develop collective agriculture lands.
At the opening of the new legislative year on October 9, King Mohammed VI emphasized the “needs to be given to agriculture and rural development under the economic plan.”
He asked the government to give high importance to the sector and implement all farming projects.
“These measures should boost investment, promote employment, contribute to the development of our agricultural production, and facilitate the integration of professionals in rural areas, in line with the new farming strategy,” the King said.
The monarch declared that the total volume of investment is estimated to stand at MAD 38 billion ($4.16 billion) in the medium term.
During his presentation on Monday, Akhannouch also spoke about the irrigation program, saying that the water-saving plan and the collective conversion to localized irrigation intend to cover 72% of the total programmed area.
“The works have been completed for an additional 10,300 hectares, while they are still in progress for an area of 48,600 hectares,” he said.
In terms of the individual conversion to drip irrigation, Akhannouch vowed that the 2021 program will cover nearly 50,000 additional hectares to reach a total area of 693,999 hectares.
The ministry also plans to grant a subsidy of MAD 2.01 billion ($220.2 million) to Morocco’s Agricultural Development Fund.
The agriculture ministry is also planning to finalize contracts as part of solidarity projects programmed under the Green Morocco Plan.
Akhannouch said that investments in solidarity agricultural projects should reach MAD 2.7 billion ($295.8 million) next year, including MAD 1 billion ($109.5 million) in the form of payment credits.
To address social disparities, the official said that regional councils for rural development and remote areas are preparing action plans for 2021.
The ministry is also planning to launch a series of projects to address challenges in the water and forests department and to enhance the development of forest areas.
