Head of Government and former agriculture minister, Aziz Akhannouch, voiced his satisfaction with the outcomes of the “Green Morocco Plan” (GMP) during the lower house’s monthly plenary session, brushing off contrary national sentiment against the agricultural plan.
The 2008 Green Morocco Plan is aimed at enhancing the annual GDP, and making Morocco a leader in the agricultural field, continentally, based on the “planting for export” policy.
Many products that cause water stress and undermine plantations are becoming very coveted to supply the global market. The Moroccan government, led by Akhannouch, closed new deals with numerous nations, including Israel, the EU, and the Gulf, to export such water-draining products, notably watermelon, avocado, and citruses, regardless of the repercussions on underground water and dams.
A single watermelon requires 60 liters of water to grow, which brings the number to 3 Mln m3 in three years. Same goes for the avocado as each kilogram requires 1,000 liters of water to grow.
In marked contrast, Morocco experiences recurrent droughts, and by the end of 2022, the nation’s water reserves dropped to less than 4 billion m3. As from 1960 to 2020, the number of internal renewable water resources per person decreased from 2,560 m3 to about 620 m3, according to the World Resource Institute (WRI).
There is something terribly wrong when a country calls itself an agricultural nation and set out to export products, while its own population cannot afford basic foodstuffs.
A look at the Household confidence in Q1 of 2023 shows a continuous downward trend to 46.3 points, which is the lowest level since the survey was launched back in 2008, as reported by the Statistics and Forecasts Office (HCP). The survey revealed that a vast majority of families (98.7%) complains of an uptick in food prices over the past 12 months, and 74.5% predict that food costs will rise even more.
Amid a grim geopolitical and climatic context, citizens are coming to the conclusion that GMP will not help Morocco attain food self-sufficiency, as it focuses on exportation rather than addressing and meeting the needs of the population.
According to Akhannouch, cereal self-sufficiency requires an extra 900,000 hectares of irrigated land, in addition to the current 300,000 ha. However, due to rainfall scarcity, agricultural water supplies cover only 40% of demand.
The Head of government claimed that growing watermelon require less water than grains, explaining that 1 kilogram of barley uses 12 times the amount needed for that fruit. Perhaps, but bread, not watermelon, remains a central food on the Moroccan table.
The recent importation of Brazilian cattle and sheep ahead of Eid Al Adha are blatant illustrations of the plan’s shortcomings and failure to ensure Morocco’s food security.
Despite all these flaws, Akhannouch is still defending the GMP as being a profitable plan, but facts are pointing to the opposite.