Morocco, a model in food security, FAO chief says
Morocco, Environment, 2/3/1999

Morocco has become, in matters of food security, a model for several other countries which should benefit from the kingdom's experience, said Jacques Diouf, director general of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

Diouf made the statement during a meeting in Rabat with Moroccan executives who will attend a FAO-sponsored food security program in Burkina Faso and Niger.

"Morocco obtained excellent results during the past decades thanks to the farsightedness of King Hassan II, who realized many years ago the importance to give priority to agriculture, to the rural world and to water management, at a time other countries' interest was focused on industry," Diouf said.

Diouf who is currently on a visit to Morocco on Monday handed to King Hassan II the distinguished "Agricola" medal awarded by the Rome-based FAO to the sovereign in recognition for his ceaseless efforts to promote agriculture.

While receiving the medal, King Hassan II said the Alawite dynasty to which he belongs is above all a "dynasty of born farmers," recalling the keen interest the first Alawite monarchs gave to agriculture.

Prophet Mohammed used to place the farmer on top of the sociological pyramid, the King said, adding that for the prophet, planting a tree was equal to performing an act of faith.

King Hassan II underlined that the Moroccan people "should be thankful to God that all their rivers stem from their own territory." This is a blessing, especially at a time "water has become a source of conflict" in several parts of the world.

King Hassan II underlined that the Moroccan people should be aware of the importance of their country's 3,000 km-long coasts on the Atlantic ocean and on the Mediterranean sea, that are a "source of life, food and a driving force."

Morocco, a country with a semi-arid weather, has realized since the early years of independence from France in 1956 the importance of devising an efficient water management policy to spare its growing population the hazards of the severe droughts that hit the country on a cyclical basis.

The first dam constructed in Morocco in the 20th century was built in 1929 on the Oum Rabii river to supply the then small town of Casablanca (now the largest city in Morocco and in North Africa) with drinking water.

The water management policy remained, however, shy until 1966. Between 1929 and 1966, only 15 dams with a global capacity of 2 billion cubic meters, were constructed.

In 1967, King Hassan II gave a new impetus to the dams construction policy, when he decided to build six dams, part of an ambitious program geared towards ensuring the irrigation of 1 million hectares by year 2000.

A national authority in charge of water affairs was set in the same year with the prime objective to implement the irrigation project and to reduce, at a later stage, Morocco's dependence on abroad in matters of electric power.

Morocco can produce, with an average rainfall, some 2570 mgw of hydraulic energy.

In addition to irrigating more than 1 million hectares, Morocco's water policy also seeks to produce over 800 million cubic meters annually of drinking and industrial water.

Experts say the water sector, which has always been on top of King Hassan II's priorities, benefited a lot from the construction of large dams that have become the pillars of the North African country's agriculture.

Previous Stories:
  Moroccan people should be thankful to god that its rivers stem from its own territory, says King Hassan   (2/2/1999)
  FAO Chief Visits Morocco   (2/1/1999)
  Moroccan premier dedicates infrastructure projects in southern provinces   (12/17/1998)

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