Desert encroachment jeopardizes 280,000 hectares of palm groves, minister

Some 280,000 hectares of palm groves in southern Morocco are jeopardized by desert encroachment, the Moroccan agriculture minister said.The official cited the extension of urban centers as one of the major desertification factors. The urbanization rate went up from 29 percent in 1960 to 54 percent in 2000, he said.

Drought, demographic pressure and overgrazing risk to turn into desert several regions in Morocco, Ismail Alaoui, told a meeting held Friday in Rabat on desert encroachment.