Updated
Morocco’s progress on food security acknowledged by UN but work remains | The Guardian
Morocco’s agricultural reforms are showing “impressive” results – including a 34% increase in exports so far – while more remains to be done:
Morocco’s progress on reducing poverty and eliminating hunger through a nationwide plan has received qualified praise from the UN special rapporteur on the right to food.
Hilal Elver acknowledged the country’s achievements in boosting production through “plan Maroc vert” (plan for a green Morocco, or PMV), but cautioned that more needed to be done to reach small-scale farmers in outlying areas.
“Morocco’s green plan … should be implemented equally across the regions through effective consultation with local populations and improved coordination of services,” said Elver after a week-long visit.
Morocco launched the PMV in 2008, with the ambition to promote socio-economic development through agriculture. It has two main pillars: maximising production from modern large-scale farms through the promotion of agribusiness and investment, and reducing poverty and hunger through the support of small-scale farmers in marginal areas.
Agriculture accounts for 15% of Morocco’s GDP but is even more important to job creation. Up to 40% of the population works in the sector.
The figures for large-scale production are impressive. Since 2008, at least 150bn dirhams (£10bn) has been invested in approximately 700 “pillar one” projects such as mechanisation, irrigation and the use of fertilisers…[FULL STORY]