Moroccan official calls for strengthening Moroccan-French partnership in cereal farming

Moroccan agriculture, rural development, water and forest minister, Ismail Alaoui called on Moroccan and French economic operators to invest in the cereals stocking and processing infrastructure.

The minister, who was opening on Tuesday in Casablanca the "2002 French-Moroccan meeting on cereals," said that partnership between the two countries' economic operators should match the significant increase of Moroccan imports of French cereals that went from 500.000 tons, in the beginning of the 90s, to about 1.5 millions tons during the last three years.

France has therefore become Morocco's largest supplier of soft wheat, he added, mentioning in this regard the agreement signed, in 2001, between the French National inter-professional office of cereals and its Moroccan counterpart, and between this latter and the French technical institute of cereals and fodder.

Cereals are grown in Morocco in 5 millions hectares, 60 percent of the arable land, said the official adding that the activity contributes third of the agricultural GDP and employs fifth of agricultural workforce.