From drought to recovery How did the recent rains change the map of agriculture in the East?
During the recent period, the eastern region witnessed significant rainfall that revitalized the agricultural sector, boosted the water stock in the basins and dams, and restored hope to the hearts of farmers in various areas under its territorial jurisdiction after successive years of drought that had negative effects on the sector.
Important precipitation in the region will have a positive impact on the yield of agricultural crops and the amount of production on several levels, although it is not enough to erase the severe effects of successive droughts in the country, and farmers' hopes are looking forward to continued rainfall during April and May to determine the success of the agricultural sector this season.
In this context, Ali Hamdioui, Regional Director of Agriculture in Nador, spoke about the importance of the agricultural sector in the national economy, stressing that the sector plays an important role in contributing to the gross domestic product by more than 14 percent, and focuses on achieving national food sovereignty by supplying markets with various necessary food products, noting that more than 40 percent of the population in Morocco is linked to the agricultural sector, especially in the rural world.
He also highlighted the most important measures taken by the ministry in charge of the sector to accompany the current agricultural season and ensure all elements of its success despite the difficult climatic conditions recorded at the beginning of the season, including those related to providing inputs such as seeds and fertilizers, supporting production chains, managing irrigation water and supply, accompanying farmers, expanding cultivated areas, reducing the cost of production, and others.
Regarding the repercussions of the recent rainfall on the eastern region, Hamdioui explained that the region has received significant rainfall compared to previous years, noting that “the Nador region, for example, had more than 119 millimeters of rainfall until April, and during March alone, the average rainfall was more than 31 millimeters, which had a very positive impact not only on crops, but also on the level of the dams, which provide irrigation water to agricultural areas such as Bouark, Sabra plain and Kurt plain...”.
He added that the dams in the region exceeded 144 million cubic meters, with a filling rate of more than 58 percent, compared to the same period last year, when the filling rate did not exceed 24 percent. These data have a very positive impact on fall crops, especially cereals, and spring crops, especially wheat, beans, peas and lentils, as well as fruit trees, especially citrus fruits, olives and grapes, not to mention pastures, forests and fodder habitats.
Regarding the challenges in the sector and how to manage them, Hamdioui said, “Our country has gone through very difficult phases in which it experienced a significant decrease in rainfall levels over the past seven years, which, as everyone knows, had negative effects on all activities of the agricultural sector in general, and these challenges are still ongoing. Therefore, the ministry is working with all stakeholders to find solutions for water for irrigation and livestock watering. In this regard, we note the launch of important projects such as the seawater desalination project, an important project planned for the eastern region, specifically in the Nador region, which will ensure the supply of drinking water to the population and farmers with water for irrigation and livestock watering,” Hamdioui said.
The ministry is also working on other parallel projects, the most important of which is the project to increase the capacity of the Mohammed V Dam, where work is still ongoing to increase the total capacity of the dam by more than one billion cubic meters, in addition to other dam construction projects in the regions of Gersif and El Dreyouche.
With regard to supporting farmers, the same official said that “the Ministry of Agriculture departments work closely with the farmer through daily communication and continuous accompaniment from the beginning to the end of the season, which is manifested in providing seeds to farmers at favorable prices, insuring grain and wheat crops against climatic risks such as drought and stagnation of water in the fields, frost, hail, strong winds and sandy winds, and implementing preventive programs to vaccinate the national herd against various animal diseases. This is manifested in providing seeds to farmers at reasonable prices, securing grain and cotton crops against climatic risks such as drought, water stagnation in agricultural fields, frost, cold, strong winds and sandy winds, implementing preventive programs to vaccinate the national herd against various animal diseases, and supporting the prices of some agricultural inputs such as seeds and fertilizers to reduce the cost of production, while allocating financial support for seeds and seedlings of tomatoes, potatoes and onions.”.
“Within the framework of the green generation strategy pursued by the Ministry of Agriculture, there will be solidarity projects, including planting fruit trees, establishing water points, breaking isolation by building agricultural and village paths, rehabilitating cooperatives, distributing some machinery to small farmers, forming cooperatives and creating job opportunities, in addition to other projects such as rehabilitating and preparing small irrigation oceans within the region, building concrete dams, digging wells to supply and water fruit trees and irrigation oceans, and digging wells to water livestock,” he added.
The regional director of agriculture in Nador concluded his statement to Hespress by talking about what he called the most important project in the agricultural sector in the Nador region, the project to modernize the irrigation sector in the Kurt Plain, saying that “this project, which will be in the Beni Wakil and Oulad Emhind communities, will target 13,500 hectares and will rely on the drip irrigation technique instead of spraying to irrigate sugar beet crops, vegetables and various trees, and will benefit more than 3,300 farmers.”.
The project aims to save water and energy consumption, improve the quality of irrigation water through filtration and filtration systems, increase production productivity, improve farmers' income, create new jobs, and increase the number of working days by more than 300,000 new working days. As for the financial programming of this important project, the total investment will amount to 885 million dirhams for external equipment and 500 million dirhams for internal equipment.
Kamal Abarkani, a researcher in agricultural sciences and professor of higher education at the Interdisciplinary College of Nador - Mohammed I University, said that “the eastern region witnessed significant rainfall after successive years of drought, and the capacity of dams in the region increased by a good percentage, as did the percentage of all dams at the national level, compared to last year.”.
Regarding the water table, Abercani explained that “it can also increase by a major percentage, but it needs significant rainfall every year without major interruptions because the water table can only be replenished after a series of rainfalls every year,” pointing out that “an important part of the rainfall water flows into the sea, and therefore cannot be utilized, so it is necessary to reconsider equipping some areas with mini-dams to preserve water.”.
The researcher in agricultural sciences highlighted that these rainfalls have greatly revitalized the agricultural sector in the eastern region, as they have very positive effects on vegetation cover, livestock fodder supply and soil improvement, in addition to their positive impact on the salinity ratio, and the promotion of some major crops such as sugar beet and cereals, as well as fruit trees and their revitalization.
“Many farmers are reluctant to cultivate their lands because they are afraid of the lack of rainfall as in previous years, in addition to the fact that the drought caused the destruction of many agricultural crops, so we hope that the region will see rainfall during April and May to secure the current agricultural season,” Abarkani said, adding that some crops such as tomatoes, onions, potatoes and sugar beets will be revitalized by these recent rainfalls. He noted that some crops such as tomatoes, onions, potatoes and sugar beets will be revitalized by these recent rains.
He highlighted that the succession of recent drought years has made the country's water policy planners, especially in the east, very cautious about the distribution of water cycles, especially potable water, which is a high priority.
“Priority is given to fruit trees such as olives, citrus fruits, grapes and other trees, and the distribution of water courses is always based on the availability of the dams, and this policy always seeks to avoid water stress, which has serious consequences,” he said, referring to the Mellouia basin in the east, which supplies the majority of agricultural areas.
As for the challenges facing the eastern region in this sector, Abarkani said that “the eastern region has experienced a violent drought in recent years, so that the water dams” reserves have decreased to alarming degrees, especially drinking water, which is the most important, and this had a negative impact on the level of the agricultural sector, as many farmers retreated from growing some vegetables, as well as many fruit trees, including citrus trees known to the region, were destroyed. Many fruit trees have been destroyed, including citrus trees known in the region, and the cultivated areas have decreased, and all these factors have had serious consequences on the labor force and the contribution of agriculture to the gross national product, as well as the livestock herd, and it can be said that the eastern region is one of the most affected regions at the national level.".
To address these challenges, the researcher noted that there are important projects that can save water and conserve water, such as the project to raise the Mohammed V Dam (to store one billion cubic meters), the project to desalinate sea water on the coast of Nador (desalination of 300 million cubic meters, including 160 million for agricultural irrigation, 30,000 hectares), and the project to convert and develop irrigation in the Kart Plain in the Nador region (13,600 hectares) and equip it with drip irrigation technology, which can conserve 70 percent of the water, according to scientific and technical sources, the researcher said.
Abercani suggested developing a solid agricultural plan based on a formula that includes several data related to the amount of water available throughout the year, the nature of agricultural production, and its socioeconomic importance, taking into account the amount of investment allocated, for example, to the production of fruit tree chains due to the number of years it takes for this type of farming to produce a crop of fruit for drought-affected farmers.
The speaker concluded his statement by pointing to the need to protect subsistence crops, supply them with the necessary water without excess to preserve this fabric of farmers in the rural world, take all necessary measures to plant at the right times, taking into account climatic fluctuations, and increase the number of professional associations to organize irrigation courses so that the farmer knows the planting plan according to the water data, in addition to organizing training and sensitization courses for farmers to avoid issues of negative impact of water stress.
