Morocco: Agriculture employs almost half of the workforce (ministry)
22 May 2012
Read by 3525 persons
The agricultural sector employs one in two active people in Morocco, the Ministry of Agriculture said Tuesday, as quoted by the MAP news agency.
According to ministry data, "agriculture employs around 46% of the country's active population, where three to four million rural people work in agricultural activities and 60,000 to 100,000 in the agri-food processing sector."
"Representing nearly 65% of rural populations' income, rural employment, which is still very important, is mainly focused on agriculture," according to these figures published on the sidelines of the agriculture meetings opened Tuesday in Meknes (center).
While agricultural growth can directly contribute to poverty reduction, through increased income for farming households, this sector suffers from several constraints, including the presence of inadequate agrarian structures, the main result of several complex land ownership systems, small and fragmented farms, the ministry notes.
However, the document notes that illiteracy (more than 30% of the population), the weak development of the financing system, the climatic hazards affecting around 90% of the useful agricultural area, as well as the degradation of natural resources, are all obstacles to the development of this sector.
In Morocco, "the rural population is lagging behind in terms of social and economic development compared to cities, despite significant progress made in improving living conditions," according to the report, which indicates that "two-thirds of the surveyed populations living below the poverty line are from mountainous areas."
The phenomena of drought, which disrupt production systems in non-irrigated areas, are also mentioned in the report.
The absence of rain for three winter months this year should cause a nearly 50% drop in cereal production in Morocco compared to the 2010-11 season, to 4.8 million tons, Agriculture Minister Abdelaziz Akhennouch said Tuesday.
This decrease in production is expected to weigh on economic growth, recently revised downwards by the government, which has lowered its forecasts for 2012 to 3% compared to 4.8% growth last year.
Lesechos.fr
Published on April 24, 2012.
Posted online on May 22, 2012.
According to ministry data, "agriculture employs around 46% of the country's active population, where three to four million rural people work in agricultural activities and 60,000 to 100,000 in the agri-food processing sector."
"Representing nearly 65% of rural populations' income, rural employment, which is still very important, is mainly focused on agriculture," according to these figures published on the sidelines of the agriculture meetings opened Tuesday in Meknes (center).
While agricultural growth can directly contribute to poverty reduction, through increased income for farming households, this sector suffers from several constraints, including the presence of inadequate agrarian structures, the main result of several complex land ownership systems, small and fragmented farms, the ministry notes.
However, the document notes that illiteracy (more than 30% of the population), the weak development of the financing system, the climatic hazards affecting around 90% of the useful agricultural area, as well as the degradation of natural resources, are all obstacles to the development of this sector.
In Morocco, "the rural population is lagging behind in terms of social and economic development compared to cities, despite significant progress made in improving living conditions," according to the report, which indicates that "two-thirds of the surveyed populations living below the poverty line are from mountainous areas."
The phenomena of drought, which disrupt production systems in non-irrigated areas, are also mentioned in the report.
The absence of rain for three winter months this year should cause a nearly 50% drop in cereal production in Morocco compared to the 2010-11 season, to 4.8 million tons, Agriculture Minister Abdelaziz Akhennouch said Tuesday.
This decrease in production is expected to weigh on economic growth, recently revised downwards by the government, which has lowered its forecasts for 2012 to 3% compared to 4.8% growth last year.
Lesechos.fr
Published on April 24, 2012.
Posted online on May 22, 2012.
