Cattle breeding accounts for 30 percent of Morocco's agricultural GDP

Cattle breeding in Morocco accounts for 30% in the country's agricultural gross domestic product and yields over one billion US dollars in value-added production, Moroccan Agriculture Minister Habib El Malki said.

The figures were disclosed before the opening session of the 6th Maghreban veterinarian congress currently held in Marrakesh.

The Moroccan minister called for the consolidation of the exchange of experience between Maghreban experts in cattle breeding and immunization to increase livestock production and contribute to ensuring food self-sufficiency in the region.

For his part, the head of the Maghreban Veterinarian Union stressed the need to adopt new breeding techniques and called for the development of veterinary scientific research to protect livestock in the region from killer diseases.

The two-day congress, which opened works Thursday, is reviewing several issues related to the situation of cattle breeding in the Maghreb, coordination and cooperation prospects to combat animal diseases in North Africa.