Green Plan Pillar II: 110 New Projects Covering Morocco’s Twelve Regions Scheduled for 2018 (Minister)

Rabat – A total of 110 new projects covering the twelve regions of the Kingdom have been programmed for the year 2018 under the Pillar II of the “Plan Maroc Vert” (Green Morocco Plan-PMV), said, Friday, minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, Rural Development, Water and Forests, Aziz Akhannouch.

The overall budget for these PMV Pillar II projects, which will be launched next year, reached 1,653 million dirhams, said Akhannouch in a presentation on the budget of his ministry before the Committee in charge of Agriculture and Production Sectors at the House of Advisors.

At this meeting, the minister said that a budget of 6.85 billion dirhams was earmarked to the program to fight against social and territorial disparities in rural areas for the year 2018 , noting that 3.39 billion dirhams of this amount will be financed by the Rural Development and Mountainous Areas Fund (FDRZM).

Regarding the development of oasis and argan zones, mountainous areas and other activities in rural areas, Akhannouch said that a budget of 90 million dirhams will be dedicated to the achievement of new projects in partnership with local actors as part of the strategic orientations, adding that 116 million dirhams will be earmarked to the launch and further implementation of projects within the framework of international cooperation.

In addition, 45 million dirhams of financial assistance will be devoted to the Atlas Mountains Rural Development Project (PDRMA) in 2018 mainly through technical studies, he added.

Concerning the agricultural sector, the 2018 budget reached 9944 million dirhams (9051 million dirhams in 2017), i.e. an increase of 10% a year earlier, said Akhannouch, noting that this rise mainly includes irrigation and agricultural development projects (+ 20%) and health security (+ 28%).

As part of food safety, the focus will be on seed inspection and certification (2.3 million quintals), plant inspection and certification (40 million plants, including 20 million strawberry and 20 million fruit trees), vaccination and treatment of cattle against the main diseases (8 million head of cattle), meat inspection (400,000 tonnes) and fisheries control (550.000 tonnes), he stressed.