Cereal production in Morocco plummeted this year by 67% to 34 million quintals from 103.2 million quintals recorded in 2021, says a statement released by Moroccan ministry of Agriculture.
The drop in wheat and barley production is due to a decrease of irrigated zones following a dry season and water shortage. These factors have affected the country’s economic growth expected to slow down in 2022 to 1.3 pc from 7.9 pc posted last year.
Between 1960 and 2020, the availability of renewable water resources decreased from 2,560 m3 to about 620 m3 per person per year, placing Morocco in “structural water stress”.
During the same period, the North African Kingdom built more than 120 large dams, increasing by tenfold total water storage capacity. However, the actual volume of water stored in the country’s main dams has declined for most of the past decade.
This situation has prompted the authorities to adopt various emergency measures including awareness campaigns for water conservation and speeding up of desalination projects to mitigate the impact of water scarcity.
The Government supports farmers and consumers through subsidies, but the move needs to be accompanied by effective water demand management policies in addition to better water storage and irrigation solutions.