In 2016, Morocco had launched, at the COP22 in Marrakech, the Initiative for the Adaptation of African Agriculture, bringing together 38 countries of the continent, recalled the same source, noting that the objective is to reduce the vulnerability of Africa and its agriculture to climate change.
The initiative makes South-South cooperation a key mechanism for its implementation, it said.
“This cooperation aims to transfer to African countries the successful agricultural development experiences in Morocco, in order to help achieve food security,” said the Head of Government, Aziz Akhannouch, during a panel that brought together a dozen heads of state around their vision of growth in agriculture, regional integration and public-private partnerships, according to the AfDB statement.
Another example highlighted by Akhannouch, the statement added, is the Green Morocco Plan. Launched 15 years ago, it has given a strong boost to the agricultural sector, with an investment of nearly $13 billion over the 2008-2020 period.
It has helped increase GDP in agriculture by more than 5.5% per year. More importantly, “the sector has become more resilient to climate change and drought events. The plan has led to the conclusion of 19 program-contracts between the State and agro-industrial professionals to develop the value chains of agricultural sectors,” according to the same source.
The new strategy of Morocco called “Generation Green 2020-2030”, highlighted the AfDB, offers a framework for more resilience of the food system.
“It is based on the priority of the human element and the sustainability of agricultural development,” said Akhannouch. It is meant, on the one hand, to “develop an agricultural middle class, encourage entrepreneurship among young people and extend social security coverage to all farmers and agricultural workers”; and, on the other hand, to “consolidate the achievements of the Green Morocco Plan” and “double agricultural GDP and exports, while implementing new solutions for the rationalization of water resources in light of new climatic challenges”.
Led by the Head of Government, the Moroccan delegation to the Dakar 2 Summit is composed of Mohamed Sadiki, Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, Rural Development and Water and Forests, Nizar Baraka, Minister of Equipment and Water, Mostafa Terrab, CEO of the Office chérifien des phosphates, Chakib Alj, president of the Moroccan Employers’ Association, Obaid Amrane, General Manager of the sovereign fund Ithmar Capital, as well as the Moroccan Ambassador to Senegal, Hassan Naciri.
