Rabat – Morocco’s Minister of Agriculture Mohamed Sadiki inaugurated on Saturday the first phase of the Oudiyat Tious hydro-agricultural development project in Boujdour.
Under an investment of MAD 121 million ($11.8 million), the project aims to irrigate 250 hectares of forage maize.
The ambitious project, part of the new development model for the southern provinces, aims to optimize irrigation water use, increase dairy production by an additional 11 million liters, and produce an additional 15,000 tons of livestock feed.
The project is also set to create an estimated agricultural added value of MAD 22 million ($2.1 million), boost farmers’ income, and generate 18,000 workdays.
The initial investment will go to the construction and equipping of six wells at a depth of 320 meters, three irrigation water storage basins, and internal equipment for the irrigation system.
In a statement to the press, Sadiki said that the project is in line with the new development model for the Southern Provinces and the implementation of the new agricultural sector development strategy “Generation Green.”
The irrigation project will enhance the forage self-sufficiency of the agricultural cooperative to 70%, he added.
Sadiki initially inaugurated the first phase of the Jrifia Hydro-Agricultural Development Project in the commune of Jrifia on Friday, under an investment of MAD 150 million ($14.9 million).
The mega project, covering a total area of 1,000 hectares with a total budget of MAD 310 million ($3 million), will irrigate 250 hectares in its first phase, distributed across 26 public-private partnership projects in the Laayoune-Sakia El Hamra region.
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