The Moroccan Ministry of Agriculture plans to help set up 18,000 new-generation agricultural co-operatives to drive innovation.
Around 1,100 public and private agricultural advisers will be mobilised as part of the long-term initiative to strengthen the sector.
On 15 March agriculture minister Aziz Akhannouch and tourism minister Nadia Fettah Alaoui signed a framework agreement to develop a new generation of agricultural co-ops.
The agreement is part of the Green Morocco Plan, an agricultural strategy for 2020-2030 to help small-scale farmers acquire technical and managerial skills and afford new technology.
Setting up co-operatives will play an important role in the aggregation process, enabling farmers to make group acquisitions, share storage space or collectively own machinery. Co-ops will also be able provide technical support and supervision.
Agriculture plays an important role in the country’s economy, with 80% of Morocco’s 14 million people who live in rural areas depending on revenues from the agricultural sector. Agriculture also accounts for 19% of Morocco’s GNP and employs more than four million people in rural areas.
As part of the agreement, the two ministries also plan to support existing agricultural co-ops to increase productivity and efficiency.
The country is home to 25,700 agricultural co-operatives. A previous collaboration between the two ministries led to the establishment of 10,000 new co-ops between 2015 and 2020.
