Moroccans pray for rain on Friday

Rogatory prayers will be held on Friday in mosques throughout Morocco at the call of the Ministry of Habous and Islamic Affairs.

Similar rogatory prayers-- held in line with the prophet's tradition every time drought is threatening a Muslim community-- were performed last February 25.

Agriculture which contributes 20% to Morocco's gross domestic product and which mostly relies on drought-sensitive crops is facing a very critical situation, especially in non-irrigated areas, due to the shortage of rainfall.

The replenishment rate of dams used to agricultural purposes stood at 46% by mid February and since September 1999, water flows to dams recorded a drop of 59% compared to the average flows in the same period, threatening even the irrigated areas.

The drought will cause a $900 million loss in agriculture value-added, and will make the country lose 52.5 million working days, Moroccan Minister of Agriculture Habib Malki told the press earlier this week while presenting a government program to fight drought.

The situation will adversely impact other sectors, including commerce, transportation and agribusiness, he said, adding that the country's annual growth will also suffer from the drought.

To face up the situation, the government devised a $655 million program that will be implemented over 15 months, starting from April.