Rabat – Minister of Agriculture Mohamed Sadiki has reiterated concerns about the exceptional climatic conditions, causing a direct impact on Morocco’s water reserves.
Sadiki told MPs on Monday in a parliamentary session that the precipitation rate in the ongoing agricultural season reached 77 millimeters. This represents a decline of 54% compared to the average of the past 40 years.
It also reflects a 44% decline compared to the same period of the previous year, which was also marked by drought.
Sadiki emphasized that agricultural areas do not exceed 400,000 out of 750,000 hectares. This reflects a 44% decrease, the minister said, in response to questions regarding the repercussions of drought on agriculture and farmers.
“This situation has impacted the water allocation for irrigation in large irrigation areas, which does not exceed 680 million cubic meters compared to the allocated share in the water plan, which is 5 billion,” he said.
The minister compared the situation to the average of the years before the drought, which was 3.5 billion cubic meters, noting that the situation concerns most agricultural regions across Morocco.
For crops, the minister announced the completion of the autumn vegetable program in irrigated areas. He said that the completion of this program encompassed 90,600 hectares, including potatoes, onions, and tomatoes.
For winter vegetable cultivation, 11,000 hectares have already been planted.
The minister made similar remarks in a new interview this week, where he acknowledged that the country’s water situation is challenging.
Morocco’s priority now, he said, is drinking water.
The agricultural campaign showed promise in its early stages with early rains giving hope to farmers, he said, but stressed that the “current [level of] precipitation…is challenging.”
Sadiki also cited the measures put in place to address the situation, including restrictions against the expansion of water-intensive crops like citrus fruits, avocados, and watermelons.
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