“Rippling beneath Zagora’s oases and watermelon fields is a story of scarcity, underdevelopment, and ingenuity. Drought has changed living in the southeastern region of Morocco and reconfigured irrigation practices,” stated in a preface to a research paper on drought and watermelon farming in Zagora.
A report, written by a US Fulbright researcher and published by the German “Hinrich Paul Stiftung” Institute, emphasised that the prevalence of irrigations farms using groundwaters contributed to the decline of groundwater.
With the appearance of the red watermelon farms, the stability of the tribes that were originally formed from the nomads in the Draa Valley “Imsoufa” is under a real threat, Jamie Fico stressed.
“Today, encouraging agriculture is driving the Amsoufa community into a water crisis and threatening the future of living in the region.”
During the period from 2000 to 2019, the water withdrawal increased from 1 million cubic metres to irrigate 250 hectares to 21 million cubic metres to irrigate 3,500 hectares, according to a study carried out by the Draa-Oued Noun Water Basin Agency, indicating that this situation created an imbalance in the groundwater in the region.
While farming was a strategy to keep the tribal people rooted in their land, the cultivation of red watermelon threatens the eradication of these people, as it has contributed to the water table drastically declining and disrupted the aquifer’s flow. Jamie Fico concluded, ‘’ The lower the water ground level, the more deteriorated the standard of living’’.
On the other hand, the researcher pointed out that watermelon production has improved the quality of life for many poor farmers in the region at the cost of consuming much of the region’s water resources.
A young red watermelon farmer in the “Al-Fijah” region justified the spread of this type of cultivation by the absence of an alternative that generates the same profit, noting that “the date palms in the region can take time between four to seven years, depending on the size of the seedling, before the start of date production.”
The increasing expansion towards the cultivation of red watermelon in Zagora is due to the large profits that farmers reap. The average farmer can sell his yield for 70 thousand dirhams per hectare at the beginning of the season when the price in the market is high, and he may achieve a profit of up to 30 thousand dirhams after deducting the cost of total expenses.
According to the report, Watermelons thrive well in Zagora due to the warm climate in the winter which allows the region to grow two crops before the season starts in Agadir and Marrakech. The seeds and grafted sprouts are sold to farmers in the region by agribusinesses in Agadir. They are planted in December and the first crop is ready by mid-April. Yet watermelon growing is a risky business, according to farmers in the region
According to the report, the cultivation of watermelon for small farmers “is a dangerous adventure,’’ because traders are in control of the market and entitled to determine the price at which they buy the product. Sometimes, farmers find themselves in an unfavourable situation as they are forced to sell their yield at a price lower than the expenses of the pre-production stage.
Ali Charroud, university professor and specialist in earth geodynamics and environment, said in a statement to Hespress English the best response to the question of water scarcity and watermelon production in Zagora is connecting aquifers of the kingdom to deliver water to areas in need.
He explained that Morocco can tackle the issue of water scarcity in regions known for watermelon production by associating self-sufficient water networks with arid and dry zones.
‘’Self-sustaining aquifers such as Sabou and Amou Rabie can be connected to the Southern regions and used to support irrigation and other agricultural operations ‘’, Ali further stated.
He stressed that ‘’ the efforts must be invested not in trying to end a lucrative production in a region with few options, but rather to find middle-ground solutions that ensure meeting the needs of farmers while considering the sustainability requirements.’’
‘’While it is true that connecting aquifers of the country will require a big, continuous fund, Morocco has the potential to come up with wise and ingenious solutions to such pressing issues’’, professor Ali maintained.
Farmers interviewed by the researcher believe that rationing the cultivation of red watermelon at the national level is “the best solution for farmers,”. Because large farmers produce huge quantities of watermelon and, thus, control the market, imposing national restrictions will allow the possibility of controlling production and doing justice to small farmers.
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.