Morocco's new agriculture Minister promises rebound to struggling sector

Ahmed El Bouari, Morocco’s newly appointed Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, Rural Development, Water, and Forests, has committed to ensuring a successful agricultural season in response to previous shortcomings. He announced a series of measures to tackle significant challenges, including water scarcity and rising agricultural input costs.

The measures focus on various aspects, such as the provision of production factors (seeds and fertilizers), development of production chains, management of irrigation water, agricultural insurance, and support for farmers. These initiatives aim to alleviate the burdens faced by agricultural professionals.

Regarding seeds, El Bouari stated that the goal is to cultivate 5 million hectares during the 2024-2025 agricultural season. He noted that approximately 1.26 million quintals of certified seeds for autumn crops will be available at incentivized prices, reflecting a 3-5% reduction compared to the 2023-2024 season.

The support for seeds will also expand to include new varieties of cereals, animal feed, and legumes, encouraging farmers to adopt crop rotation systems.

Given the ongoing drought, the path ahead is fraught with challenges. The minister expressed hope that recent and upcoming rainfall would help the kingdom overcome this relentless drought. He announced that the “national supplementary irrigation program for cereals” will continue, aiming to secure and stabilize harvests, with a target of reaching 1 million hectares by 2030.

El Bouari also discussed multi-risk agricultural insurance for cereals, legumes, and oilseed crops, aiming to cover about 1 million hectares, along with continuing support for fruit trees to secure approximately 50,000 hectares.

For fertilizers, the market is expected to be supplied with around 650,000 tons of phosphate fertilizers and 200,000 tons of nitrogen fertilizers, maintaining prices similar to the previous season.

Additionally, the ministry plans to support sugar crops, targeting 45,000 hectares, thanks to improved water conditions in certain areas. Price increases for sugar beets and sugarcane have been reinstated to 80 dirhams and 70 dirhams per ton, respectively.

In the dairy sector, the ministry will continue supporting feed for dairy cows and extend the ban on the slaughter of certain dairy breeds. Financial assistance will be provided for purchasing imported and locally produced purebred calves, alongside specific support agreements as part of the 2021-2030 program contract.

For the red meat sector, import duties on cattle for fattening will be suspended for up to 120,000 heads until December 31, 2024, with plans to extend this measure into 2025.

Livestock breeders will benefit from a supply program through the establishment and equipping of water points, acquisition of tanks and water trucks, and covering operational and maintenance costs in the affected regions.

The program to mitigate the effects of insufficient rainfall on livestock will continue, involving the distribution of 2.5 million quintals of subsidized barley and 2 million quintals of compound feed, alongside livestock supply initiatives.