2020/2021 Crop Year: “Very Positive” Impact of Recent Rainfall (Ministry)

Rabat – The rainfall in the last three months have had a very positive impact on the evolution of the 2020/2021 crop year, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Rural Development, Water and Forest.

“The heavy and generalized rains recorded in the months of January, February and March had a very positive impact on the development of the crop year”, it said in a press release after a follow-up meeting held by the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, Rural Development, Water and Forests with senior central and regional officials on the progress of the current crop year.

These rains allowed the improvement of the plant cover in general, the revitalization of maintenance works (chemical weeding and application of nitrogenous fertilizers), the improvement of dams for agricultural use and the levels of water tables.

It also concerns improving the situation of fruit tree growing, in particular the good start to vegetative growth and the improvement in the size and maturation of late citrus varieties as well as the good performance of new tree plantations.

The national average rainfall as of March 25, 2021 amounted to 271.9 mm with a good temporal and spatial distribution against 286.9 mm for the average of the last 30 years, a slight decrease of 5%.

As for the reserve of dams for agricultural use, it amounts to 6.74 billion m3 against 5.85 billion m3 the previous crop year on the same date, i.e. a dam filling rate for agricultural use of 49% against 43% the previous year on the same date, said the same source.