Rabat – The Moroccan National Health Security Office of Food (ONSSA) has tagged more than 4.5 million livestock, including sheeps and goats, for Eid Al Adha, a public holiday known as sacrifice feast in English.
ONSSA said the identification of the livestocks took place between April 22 and June 6.Like Ramadan and Eid Al Fitr, the Eid Al Adha celebration will be unprecedented this year due to COVID-19.
On May 26, the Ministry of Agriculture announced that authorities are preparing for the country to celebrate Eid Al Adha in optimal conditions amid the pandemic.
The process constitutes the operation of tagging a yellow loop carrying a serial number on the ears of the livestocks.
The label also carries the name “Eid Al Adha,” ONSSA said in its press release.
The Eid Al Adha program includes a feeding operation of 242,000 sheep and goats, suggested by ONSSA’s veterinary services.
Preparations include a set of measures such as the control of animal feed, the use of veterinary medicine, and drinking water.
The ONSSA statement expressed satisfaction with the health status of the herds and the monitoring and surveillance programs throughout the national territory, in close collaboration with private veterinarians.
During the celebration, Muslims across the world slaughter sheep or other livestock as a form of sacrifice.
By the end of May, ONSSA announced that it selected and vaccinated more than 2.6 million sheep for sale during this year’s Eid Al Adha.
“The COVID-19 pandemic did not stop us from celebrating Eid al-Fitr, but the Eid al-Adha celebration poses logistical challenges and requires good planification and organization,” Minister of Agriculture Aziz Akhannouch said in May.
Most of the major cities are in lockdown, while other regions enjoy ease of confinement at the request of Morocco’s government.
Morocco extended the state of emergency until July 10. A government council announced the decision on June 9.
Lack of rainfall and the COVID-19 pandemic damaged the 2019-2020 agriculture season, resulting in low grain stores.
Akhannouch said the ministry launched an initiative to subsidize livestock feed.
On March 24, the ministry announced its intention to distribute 2.5 million quintals of subsidized barley for farmers in the regions affected by drought.
The initiative allows farmers to purchase the subsidized barley for a fixed price of MAD 2 ($0.20) per kilogram. The government will cover the difference with the market price.
The program seeks to support Moroccan farmers to sell healthy livestock for Eid al-Adha without adding to the consumer prices.
