As hope is revived in some regions such as Gharb, Saiss, North and Middle Atlas, spring crops are starting to be planted.
The latter are underway, despite the overheating of nitrogen fertiliser and fuel prices, the same source said.
For imported fertilisers, the price of a quintal of ammonium nitrate has risen from 340 DH in 2020-2021 to 850 DH currently. And the trend is still set to rise with the explosion in the price of energy products, a consequence of the war currently raging in the Black Sea region.
The same optimistic note is also displayed concerning livestock farming. This would result in a relaxation of the demand for subsidised barley, the distribution of which has begun in several regions. And if rainfall increases during the spring, the need for subsidised barley will be further reduced, anticipates the first vice-president of the Moroccan Confederation of Agriculture and Rural Development (Comader).
Similarly, fruit growing is not expected to experience major problems, except for input prices which may discourage farmers somewhat.
However, one thing is already clear. The regions to the south of Casablanca are considered to be entirely affected. On the other hand, it is still too early to say anything about those to the north of Casablanca-Settat.
. Except that it would already be too late for many plots of land in the affected regions, which were opened to livestock before the deployment of the livestock rescue plan. This is the case for several areas in the Casablanca-Settat region.
In addition to the strong contraction of the Al Massira Dam reserve (the filling rate is at 7%), the water table has reached the alarm level, according to an authorized source at the Regional Directorate of Agriculture of the Casablanca-Settat region.
This region, which is the granary of Morocco, had refrained from planning crops that could be irrigated with water from dams. This is true even for market gardening and sugar beet. And the region is no exception. Other important agricultural regions are also experiencing the effects of the drought. This is particularly the case in Fez-Saïs, Haouz-Tensift, Tadla-Azilal and Oriental.
Faced with this situation, the Ministry of Agriculture is constantly monitoring the situation with its external services. According to our information, the Ministry holds between two and three meetings per week with its regional directorates (DRA), plant production directorates (DPA) and regional agricultural development offices.
And the crisis situation is not limited to annual crops, it also affects export crops. According to our information, the last board meeting of the organisation in charge of controlling and coordinating exports of fresh and processed agricultural products, held under the chairmanship of the Minister of Agriculture, was the occasion for “a real wall of lamentations”.
Leading the way are citrus growers who are asking for aid to compensate for the damage suffered on the Russian market due to the default on payments. A drop in revenue on the European Union market is also being put forward. However, the only assurances obtained by the operators relate to the postponement of debts contracted with the Crédit Agricole and the guarantee of new financing.
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