The Environmental conservation organization criticized Morocco’s exports of its most valuable natural resources in the form of water-depleting goods.
National agriculture has shifted in recent years toward planting fruits such as watermelon and avocado in water-stressed areas in order to export them to other countries.
This trade may affect the country, in light of the current shortage of water nationwide, following drought and lack of rainfall.
“Water periodically moves from third world countries to rich countries through the export of water-depleting vegetables and fruits, such as watermelons from North African countries to water-rich European countries, avocados from South America, and Morocco to Europe and the US,” said the Moroccan environmental organization in a recent Facebook post.
“This water may rather be allocated to cultivating grains and vegetables in poor countries, instead of planting goods that consume more water,” added the same source.
One kilogram of watermelon planted in Morocco’s south consumes 45 liters of water, which means that a watermelon weighing 10 kg may consume 450 liters of water, further stated the organization.
“With each watermelon containing 80% of its weight in water, the export of watermelon means that for every 10 kg of watermelon exported abroad an amount equivalent to 8 kg of non-renewable groundwater,” added Morocco’s environmental NGO.
One kilogram of avocado consumes 1000 liters of water, which constitutes a danger to the continuity of life for people and for the future generations in the country, said the same source.
Recently, the World Bank announced that it has allocated a USD 500 million loan for Morocco to help overcome the unprecedented drought and the growing global inflation.
The loan will also help support the government in strengthening the institutional and coordination framework for disaster and climate-related risk management, as the government continues to implement mechanisms to fight against the effects of external and internal economic blows.
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