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Agadir – Morocco’s Ministry of Agriculture on February 13 joined a training and continuous education program for sub-Saharan migrants in Morocco.
The project will offer 175 African nationals an eight-month vocational training program in the agricultural field. The aim is to help migrants from sub-Saharan countries to better integrate into Moroccan society.
Before the Ministry of Agriculture joined the project, the original pilot program ran between 2014 and 2016. The goal was to provide professional training to the migrants in the field of agriculture, with the plan to subsequently hire them on farms in the region.
The pilot program was the result of a partnership between the Jiber Association and the ministry of Moroccans Residing Abroad. Between 2014 and 2016, at least 125 sub-Saharan migrants benefited from a two-month vocational program at the agricultural qualification center of El Menzel, approximately 40 kilometres South-East of Fez.
Read also: A Moroccan Initiative Challenges Stereotypes About Migrants
A number of Moroccan media report that this initiative is part of the new national migration policy — following King Mohammed VI’s call for a new, humanitarian approach to immigration and asylum.
As part of its goal of facilitating the integration of migrants in Morocco, the project aims to introduce the migrants to Moroccan values and culture by providing them with the necessary language and cultural education. Another goal is to fight against the racial discrimination and poverty that many migrants face across Morocco.
By the end of their two-month theoretical training, the beneficiaries (mostly aged between 18 and 35) will join farms to follow practical courses taught by technical executives. The Ministry of Agriculture will award those who complete the courses with diplomas.
Upon completing the training, the ministry will also guarantee the group of migrants the right to professional integration. As part of the initiative, the ministry is also responsible for providing accommodation, catering, clothing, as well as the necessary linguistic and cultural integration.
The Moroccan government has been increasingly active in promoting agricultural initiatives on both the national and the international level. According to the agriculture ministry, the main goal of the cultural and professional integration program is to further cement Morocco’s largely positive reputation when it comes to migration.
