Faced with the drought that has been raging in Morocco for several weeks, the government has initiated emergency measures to counter the effects of the drought. To carry out this plan, the Moroccan Agricultural Credit (MAC) is supporting this initiative with 6 billion dirhams.
Following the announcement of a 10 billion DH investment to counter the devastating effects of the drought on agricultural crops, Moroccan Agricultural Credit is providing assistance. It is mobilising to support the government’s emergency measures on the one hand and to provide assistance to the affected farmers and breeders on the other.
Indeed, MAC is a universal bank that finances all sectors. With agricultural expertise as its particular vocation, the bank supports the agricultural and rural world. It offers solidarity financing adapted to each project, particularly in the framework of national programmes.
In keeping with its mission, the bank has implemented a series of measures for this programme. These measures were presented this Thursday 17 February 2022 during the interministerial meeting held under the presidency of the Head of Government Aziz Akhannouch. They are structured around three main areas. We have the implementation of an additional envelope of 6 billion dirhams, the treatment of the indebtedness of farmers for their future deadlines and the financial support of innovative investments in irrigation water.
What will the 6 billion dirhams be used for?
The additional envelope of 6 billion dirhams will initially be used to finance spring crops through the “FILAHA RABIYA” product. In this area, the bank will provide farmers with suitable perimeters and adequate financing for the installation and maintenance of spring crops such as market gardening, maize, sunflower, melon, watermelon, etc.
The budget will also be invested in the maintenance of the arboriculture via the product “Al Ghars”. At this level, the financial institution will grant tree growers financing to ensure the necessary maintenance of their orchards, notably irrigation, the acquisition of fertilisers and phytosanitary treatments. This is to reduce the risks caused by the rainfall deficit on tree growing activities and to safeguard future production.
It will also contribute to financing the safeguarding of livestock through the “Laksiba” product. In fact, in order to help farmers safeguard their livestock, and to be able to acquire the barley made available to them, the MAC will grant them credit for the purchase of livestock feed.
With this contribution, the group will also participate in the financing of the reconstitution of all dairy cattle with the product “Genisses”. In this case, Moroccan Agricultural Credit will set up a specific product that will be dedicated to financing the acquisition of heifers to reconstitute the dairy herd.
In addition to these areas, MAC, in collaboration with the services of the Ministry of Agriculture, will join in financing the national market’s needs for cereals and livestock feed. This participation will be effective according to the control and monitoring mechanisms agreed with the services concerned, notably the NOICV( National Interprofessional Office for Cereals and vegetables).
What you need to know about the other two axes.
In the second axis, the contribution will focus on the treatment of farmers’ debts for their future maturity. It aims to help farmers in this difficult period. Moroccan Agricultural Credit has decided to postpone by one year the due dates of its loans to small farmers operating in the agricultural production sector. It also decided to suspend the actions previously brought.
For other farmers, their debt situation will be analysed on a case-by-case basis. As a result, payment facilities will be granted to them according to their ability to repay. Thus, a reprofiling of the debt will also be studied, to propose optimal and realistic solutions.
The last axis will be the financial support of innovative investments in irrigation water. With the collaboration of the Ministry of Agriculture, Maritime Fishing, Rural Development and Water and Forests, the MAC is considering the implementation of innovative solutions to finance private investments or in the framework of Public Private Partnerships (PPP). The implementation of these solutions can provide easy access to irrigation water and reduce costs.
In addition to traditional investments, these solutions also concern local desalination units. To be more precise, water resources from brackish groundwater in the Doukkala and Oriental regions. They also include conversion to solar energy to reduce pumping’s costs.
