Akhannouch Presents Bill to Extend Social Protection to 1.6 Million Farmers

Rabat – Morocco’s Head of Government, Aziz Akhannouch, asked the Moroccan Parliament on January 4 to approve a bill that will grant universal social protection benefits to farmers.

During the parliament’s monthly session on general policy, Akhannouch introduced a bill to MPs that will provide 1.6 million farmers social protection.

He stated: “ I hope that the parliament will react positively to it and open the door for more than 1.6 million farmers […] to benefit from social protection starting from next year.”

The new bill follows King Mohammed VI’s instructions to expand social protection by the end of 2022.

On April 24, 2021, three framework agreements were signed to include self-employed and non-salaried workers in the obligatory health insurance scheme.

With an annual budget of MAD 51 billion ($5.71 billion), 22 million Moroccans will benefit from mandatory health insurance, families of 7 million school-age children will receive lump-sum compensations, and 5 million non-registered workers will join the membership base of pensions by 2025.

In addition to universal social protection, farmers benefit from socio-economic support from projects launched under Morocco’s Green Plan. The plan invested MAD 43 billion ($4.63 billion) to support small and medium-scale farmers and created 342,000 job opportunities in rural areas.

Given the agricultural sector’s significant contribution in stabilizing the Moroccan GDP amid the COVID-19 crisis, Akhannouch appeared to suggest, the protection of the farmers’ rights and their livelihood is essential to the socio-economic development of rural areas and the growth of the Moroccan economy.