By Bisola Adeyemo
The Moroccan government has revealed its plans to boost the agriculture industry that has been ravaged by acute drought in recent years.
The plan which will cost a total of 10 billion dirhams ($1 billion), was launched on Wednesday in the country.
The emergency plan “aims to mitigate the effects of delay in rainfall, to alleviate the impact on agricultural activity and to provide assistance to the farmers and livestock breeders affected”, the royal palace said in a statement.
Despite hopes of a relief from the drought, the national rainfall average is 75 millimetres, down two-thirds compared to a normal season, the royal cabinet said.
And the dam reserves have plummeted, filled at a level of just 33% as of Wednesday, compared to 48% this time last year, official data showed.
The kingdom’s economy, already hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic, is heavily dependent on agriculture, which contributes 12% of GDP.
Morocco faces an acute drought every two to three years, compared with every seven to 10 years in the 1990s, attributing the higher frequency to climate change.
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