Arab unanimous support to Moroccan candidate to top Arab agricultural organization
Regional-Morocco, Agriculture, 4/21/2000

Morocco has officially applied for the chairmanship of the Khartoum-based Arab Organization for Agricultural Development "AOAD" and elected Abdeslam Debbagh to take over Dr. Yahia Baccour (Syria).

Prior to the ministerial council meeting on April 29 in Bahrain to appoint the new AOAD general-manager, several Arab countries voiced support to the Moroccan bid and said they were busy drumming up more back-up to make the Moroccan choice unanimous and incept a genuine Mashreq-Maghreb alternation.

Outstanding political and cooperation ties, mutual respect with all Arab countries, a prized geo-strategic location making of the kingdom the natural nexus between the Arab World, Africa, Europe and renowned achievements in the agriculture sector entitle Morocco the honor of leading the organization, said Debbagh in a statement to the "Maghreb Arab Press" news agency.

The Moroccan candidate for the job says he is ready to take over as of next month to steer AOAD into the new century and voiced confidence as to prospects. The Arab nation, he said, has the human resources capable of mastering newer technologies and using them at the service of genuine Arab partnership. All the studies and research conducted so far will be thus put to use turning the yield into projects securing food-self reliance and decent living standards for all Arab rural populations as part of global and sustained development, he pointed out.

Debbagh, who chaired the Arab Farming-Engineers Union, said Morocco has made of agriculture-promotion a top priority geared towards mobilization of natural and human resources to meet needs, upgrade living conditions and make of agriculture the cornerstone of lasting growth.

Stressing the importance of the sector, he underlined the vision of the late king Hassan II who built a model network of dams throughout the country and recalled that King Mohammed VI, following his father's suit, visited several provinces launching development projects to help farmers and alleviate drought effects.

He also recalled praise to Morocco by AOAD which hailed successful restructuring measures adopted by Rabat such as privatization of firms, easier export procedures and progressive liberalization of produce prices.

M. Debbagh, a farming-engineer and faculty member of the Hassan II Agronomy and veterinary Institute of Rabat has already chaired the Arab Farming-Engineers' Union and worked as an expert for regional and international organizations with AOAD, FAO, the international center of higher agronomy studies in the Mediterranean and the international center of food-policy studies of the World Bank.

He has worked closely with the outgoing general-manager, DR Yahia Baccour who did a remarkable job at the head of the organization, both within AOAD and the Union of Arab Farming Engineers.

The Arab Organization for Agriculture Development set up in the early 70s embarked on the ambitious undertaking to coordinate and supervise farming projects in the Arab world targeting food self-reliance and Arab complementarity in an increasingly strategic sector.

The organization provides for the promotion of human and natural resources in the agricultural realm upgrading techniques and methods, enhancing trade of produce among Arab countries and backing-up farming industrial projects. Improvement of living standards of farming populations and constant growth of Arab production also rank high on its agenda.

Consecutive action programs, in which Morocco played a leading role alongside other Arab countries, enabled AOAD to carry out successfully a series of actions and projects in the fields of human resources, studies, research, programs, consultations and technical cooperation.

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