Morocco Farming Changes
Moroccan farmers will soon have to change from their antiquated ways of farming to more modern ones. Independent think tank Centre Marocain de Conjoncture suggests that farmers, here, need to ready themselves for the climate changes and the coming change in the markets. Severe droughts have happened in the past and will continue to be a problem with shifting weather patterns. Yield from crops this year will be less than half of last years because of the drought situation. This put emphasis on the need to update Morocco’s agriculture practices. About half of Morocco’s farms are five hectares or smaller in size. Main crops have historically been cereal grains. Cereal grains use a great amount of water. Farmable land and water are not plentiful in Morocco. Water, especially, needs to be rationed and land use planned.
Agriculture is important to Morocco. Markets have been opened with the U.S. and Egypt as well as other Arab nations for Moroccan-produced foods. About half of the jobs in this country are in agriculture. It also, represents a healthy chunk of Morocco’s GDP (gross domestic product).
Moroccan farmers will have to compete with European farmers as well as other countries when the free trade agreement being negotiated with the EU is finalized. This puts pressure on Morocco to change the face of farming. Better equipped and managed farms, that are bigger is one recommendation. Raising crops that are not as water dependent as cereal grains is another. The government is working to change the structure of farming, making it more diversified. This includes wiser use of the water supply and useable land resources. Morocco’s government implemented an ongoing plan in 2005 to convert approximately more than 50,000 hectares to the growing of olive and fruit trees which use less water. Morocco needs to reevaluate its economy’s dependence on agriculture as well as getting agriculture ready for the coming changes.
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October 3rd, 2007 at 1:07 pm
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