Morocco’s King meets with PM, agriculture minister amid rainfall deficit

RABAT – Morocco’s King Mohammed VI received on Wednesday at the royal residence in Bouznika, Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch and Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, Rural Development and Water and Forests Mohamed Sadiki.

The meeting was part of King Mohammed VI’s solicitude for the rural population and all components of the agricultural sector, especially at a time when the agricultural season is experiencing a large deficit of rainfall, said the Royal Palace in a statement.

The national average rainfall has so far reached 75 mm, recording a deficit of 64% compared to a normal season. This climatic and hydric situation negatively impacts the progress of the agricultural campaign, especially the fall crops and the availability of pasture, it added.

The monarch stressed the need for the government to take all necessary emergency measures to cope with the impact of the deficit of rainfall on the agricultural sector.

The statement said that the exceptional program elaborated by the government “aims at mitigating the effects of the delayed rainfall, alleviating the impact on the agricultural activity and providing assistance to the affected farmers and herders.”

The King has given his high instructions for the Hassan II Fund for Economic and Social Development to contribute an amount of 3 billion dirhams to this program, which will require a budget estimated at 10 billion dirhams, it added.

This program focuses on three main aspects, including the protection of animal and plant capital and the management of water scarcity; agricultural insurance and the reduction of financial burdens on farmers and professionals, the financing of operations to supply the national market in wheat and fodder, in addition to the funding of innovative investments in the field of irrigation.