After months of record-low precipitation, Moroccan skies rained across various regions in the country this weekend, offering a glimmer of hope amidst an unprecedented drought season.
Heavy rains, sometimes stormy, and significant snowfall lasted from Sunday to Monday in several provinces of the Kingdom, which constitutes a much-needed boost to the country’s dams and parched lands.
The belated rainfall may contribute by a small percentage to the recovery of farmers and markets if they continue for the remainder of the month, according to experts.
Mohamed Benabou, a meteor expert, expects that “the precipitation will revive the agricultural season despite their late arrival,” telling Hespress AR that “despite being March, the rains will benefit spring crops, olive trees, and some fruits, and will contribute relatively to saving the agricultural season.”
“Heavy or steady rainfall may constitute a positive factor in terms of dam filling as well,” adds the expert, saying that “since precipitation forecasts, experts are expecting a 32.7% minimum national dams filling rate.”
However, Benabou stressed that the summer season and the months of September and October will still constitute a major challenge, telling Hespress AR that “when the demand for water increases in that period, the state may resort to allocating some dams only to respond to citizens’ need for drinking water, and not allow agricultural consumption, which sometimes reaches 80% of dam water distribution on a normal season.”
For his part, Mohamed Jadri, an economics researcher, told Hespress AR that “these precipitations would save the autumn and spring farmers,” in addition to enabling the farmer to have access to pasture, relieving farmers of the burden related to livestock feed.
Regarding the impact of these precipitations on the prices of vegetables and fruits, the spokesman explained, in a statement to Hespress AR that the prices of the latter “are also linked to the rise in fuel and transportation prices,” and don’t exclusively depend on rainfall.
Consequently, the price of some materials will remain high in the coming days, in hopes that these precipitation will help alleviate the burden on Moroccans, if they last for two or three weeks, positively affecting the production of farmers and the purchasing power of citizens.
add your comment
Terms of publication : Not to offend the writer, people, sacred things, or attack religions or the divine self, and refrain from racist incitement and insults.