Alarmed by drought specter, government summons commission

Alarmed by the specter of drought, the Moroccan government decided to summon the national permanent commission of rural development to assess the situation.

The commission, gathering several ministerial departments, will devise an action program that will be submitted to the government for approval, said Khalid Alioua, spokesman for the government after the weekly cabinet meeting held here on thursday.

Morocco suffers from cyclical drought at an average of once every three years, a fact that severely affects its agriculture sector. The sector accounts for more than 20 percent of the Gross Domestic Product and employs half of the country's total workforce of 10 million.

Alioua said it was too early to say whether Morocco would experience another drought season despite rare rainfalls this year.

"According to our own experience, we still have time until mid-December. There are expectations that we will have some rainfalls, God willing," he added.

The ministry of religious endowments and Islamic affairs urged Moroccan believers to perform this Friday rogatory prayers throughout the country.