HOW LACK OF WATER AFFECTED MOROCCO AGRICULTURAL INDUSTRY IN 2023

Morocco’s agriculture sector continued to suffer from water deficit at the end of 2023, with recent data indicating that the sector’s added value to the economy slowed to 5.2% year-on-year in the fourth quarter of 2023, down from 6.9% year-on-year in the first quarter.

According to a report from the Higher Commission for Planning (HCP), the drop in added value of Morocco’s agriculture is mainly due to the persistent water deficit and adverse weather conditions as temperatures were above the seasonal average, which took a toll on crops. 

The HCP report adds that fruits and vegetables were the most affected non-cereal categories with adverse weather conditions, resulting in a drop in the volume of exported agricultural produce. 

At the end of the fourth quarter of 2023, exports of small vegetables dropped by  16.8%, tomatoes by 25.9%, strawberries by 29%, and watermelons and melons by a staggering 61.5%.

Likewise, livestock farming has been constrained by poor grazing conditions. However, Red meat production continued to rise primarily due to increased imports of live animals, which surged in the last quarter of 2023. 

Meanwhile, poultry farming activity rebounded, as a result of a 33.3% decrease in corn import prices, the report specifies. 

The report further explains that the supply of poultry production improved in the last quarter of 2023. The number of broiler chickens and turkey poults processed at slaughterhouses rose by annual levels of 10.3% and 10%, respectively. 

The recovery in supply contributed to the drop in chicken prices in the market, bringing their average to 1.1% in the last quarter of 2023, down from 11.6% in the same period in 2022. 

The productivity of the beekeeping sector continued to decline due to a reduction in bee colonies caused by the dry weather conditions in the summer and autumn of 2023.

SOURCE: Moroccoworldnews