Rabat – Morocco’s cereal production in 2022 is set to reach its lowest level since 2008 due to the most severe drought to have hit the country in almost a decade.
Morocco’s overall wheat production is set to reach 32 million quintals, 69% down from last year, according to the ministry of agriculture.
As agriculture accounts for an average of 11% of the country’s Gross Domestic Production, the drop in cereal production will carry a heavy toll on the country’s economy.
Commenting on the potential impact on Morocco’s agriculture, the ministry said that it projects a 1.7 point drop in this year’s GDP.
This year’s drought had mainly affected the autumn harvest, spring crops are expected to fare better, the ministry explained in a statement, adding that it expects olives, citrus, and vegetable output to offset part of the damage.
The statement further specified that the number of measures the government has enacted to mitigate the effect of drought will contain the drought-induced shortage in the harvest.
To mitigate the effects of adverse weather, Morocco’s agriculture ministry has deployed a support program for Moroccan farmers.
The program covers the distribution of 700,000 million tonnes at $200 per ton, and the ministry has pledged to transport the crops free of charge to remote areas.
In addition to distributing crops under market price, the program will also provide 400,000 million tonnes of compound feed to farmers to avert the effect of rising animal feed prices.
Besides the impact on the agriculture sector, the suboptimal wheat production will likely have a ripple effect on the country’s imports.
Morocco is part of the world’s second-largest wheat importing region, and cereal is a staple of the national diet.
Low cereal production translates to increased imports, threatening to worsen the country’s already wide trade deficit, as grain prices continue to soar internationally as a result of the Ukraine war.
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