Rabat – The 12th edition of the Almond Festival opened today in Tafraout on Friday. It was launched by Morocco’s Minister of Agriculture, Maritime Fisheries, Rural Development, and Water and Forests, Ahmed El Bouari.
During his visit, El Bouari also traveled to the province of Tiznit to monitor and launch new agricultural and rural development projects under the Green Generation Strategy (2020–2030).
He was accompanied by the Governor of Tiznit Province, the President of the Regional Agricultural Chamber of Souss-Massa, the President of the Provincial Council of Tiznit, elected officials, and senior ministry representatives.
Running from April 10 to 13 under the theme “Land of Almonds, Wealth of Tomorrow,” the Almond Festival aims to promote the almond sector and support the local economy and culture, according to a statement from the ministry.
The festival also aims to celebrate the heritage of the Anti-Atlas region and improve the social and economic conditions of local communities by promoting solidarity-based and social economy values. The almond is considered the region’s symbolic and main agricultural product, noted the statement.
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The festival covers a space of 2,000 square meters and hosts over 110 exhibitors of local products from across Morocco, in addition to professional players in the sector. Organizers expect more than 80,000 visitors.
The almond trees in the Souss-Massa region, especially in the Anti-Atlas area, cover a total of 23,431 hectares. This represents about 10% of Morocco’s national almond-growing area, estimated at 246,000 hectares. The region produces around 27,600 tons of almonds each year, or about 17% of the national production.
As part of the visit, the minister also launched the first phase of a cactus planting program in the rural communes of Aglou and Bounaamane in the Tiznit Province.
This program focuses on planting a special type of cactus that is resistant to the cochineal insect, which has badly affected cactus plants in recent years. The program will cover 5,000 hectares in five rural communes between 2022 and 2027. It includes planting and maintenance, training, and support for farmers. The total budget for the full program is MAD 55 million.
Around 500 hectares will be planted during the first phase at a cost of MAD 11 million, benefiting 420 farmers. The total area planned for planting in this phase is 1,000 hectares.
