SIDA visits the Water Efficiency, Productivity and Sustainability Project in Morocco
A mission of the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) visited Morocco to follow the implementation of the activities of the regional project –“Implementation of the 2030 Agenda on Water Efficiency / Productivity and Water Sustainability in Near East and North Africa Countries ”. In the Field, the members of the mission were able to see the interest and impact of the work accomplished in favor of the farmers and of all the actors involved in this project.
Upon their arrival in Morocco, the mission, composed of Ms. Yosra AlBakkar, the project focal point at the Division of Cooperation in the field of water and natural resources programs in SIDA and Mr. Walter Del Castillo, the Manager of economic integration unit in SIDA, was very quickly immersed in the daily life of farmers in Berrechid, a green city located in the region of Casablanca-Settat, which offers everything a nature lover can dream of and what is more, one of the two sites targeted in Morocco to carry out the project activities. On site, the team, which was accompanied by Mr. Mohamed Bouaam, Head of the Water Department of the FAO Representation in Morocco, met farmers and presidents of farmers' associations and made field visits and courtesy with agricultural operators in the region.
Meeting with the main actor of the project: the farmer
In this city where agricultural production is omnipresent in rural areas, Ms. Al Bakkar and Mr. Del Castillo met on Monday, February 22, 2021, the presidents and members of two associations, one of vegetable producers and a second one of water users and alternative crops.
A fruitful exchange during which several points were raised, including the upcoming signing of a concession contract between the two associations and the Agence de Bassin Hydraulique Bouregreg et de la Chaouia (ABH-BC). The objective of these contracts is to ensure the sustainability of the Berrechid groundwater table by encouraging farmers to use water resources in a sustainable manner and by supporting them in this approach.
This contract will commit farmers grouped together in the form of associations to respect an irrigation quota per hectare and per year. It will also urge the administration to support this effort by farmers by setting up a system to monitor water consumption.
The presidents of the two associations welcomed the support provided by FAO in the preparation of these concession contracts and the role of facilitator played between the authorities and the farmers to reach an agreement on how to tackle a common cause: safeguarding the Berrechid water table and protecting water resources for sustainable socioeconomic development.
For Ms. Al Bakkar and Mr. Del Castillo, discovering the daily life and expectations of farmers was enriching. They were pleasantly surprised by the warm welcome extended to them and were touched by the hopeful interactions they were able to have with the farmers they met.
Visit of the agricultural fields of Berrechid
The team's visit continued to a carrot field in Jakma commune. On a 30-hectare farm, equipped with localized irrigation, the owner has installed a basin of around 1 500 m3 which supplies it with water from a borehole.
"The carrot is profitable and consumes water," he said, explaining to the mission members the entire process of carrot production from soil preparation and sowing to harvest. In the middle of the field, the farmer holding a bunch of carrots in his hand, emphasizes that “the project, thanks to the studies carried out, has provided us with valuable information on irrigation issues and agricultural practices allowing us to reduce quantities of water used and therefore reduce production costs and improve our income …… ”
The members of the mission also went to a cereal field school where a CORDOVA ET station was located. This station is intended to measure crop evapotranspiration, which is important information for water productivity estimation.
Rich institutional exchanges
During the last day, the members of the mission met Ms. Florence Rolle, FAO Representative in Morocco, in the presence of Mr. Mohamed Bouaam. This meeting gave rise to a fruitful exchange on the conclusions of the mission with the farmers, the added value of this regional project well anchored in the local reality in Morocco, and the prospects for projects in Morocco given the new cooperation strategy, between AIDS and the MENA region.
Later in the day, the mission met with the heads of the Directorate of Irrigation and Space Planning (DIAEA) of the Department of Agriculture: MM. Mhamed Belghiti, Deputy Director and Mahmoud Badiss, Head of the Testing, Experimentation and Standardization Service and National Director of the SIDA project. Both stressed the relevance of the project, which fits well with the expectations of the ministry, and the good coordination between FAO and the directorates they represent and the other ministerial departments involved.
This mission is carried out in the framework of the FAO regional project “Implementation of the 2030 Agenda for water efficiency/productivity and water sustainability in the NENA countries ”, funded by SIDA, and implemented under FAO’s Water Scarcity Initiative.