The agricultural year is seriously compromised. Everyone agrees. A situation that will have to lead, among other things, to a problem of livestock feed.

With good reason, the Moroccan Union of Breeders and Owners of Thoroughbred Horses is sounding the alarm in this regard. There is an emergency. It is a question of saving the equine sector. The UMEPCS has also requested an audience with the supervisory minister and has still not received a response. The following press release says a lot about the situation and the measures to be taken.

"In the presence of the members of the bureau and a large number of breeders and horse owners, the Moroccan Union of Breeders and Owners of Thoroughbred Horses organised, Thursday 23 February 2012, at the Sidi Belyout Cultural Complex in Casablanca, a meeting-debate under the theme: Equine breeding facing the crisis and the effects of drought.

In such a situation, the Moroccan Union of Breeders and Owners of Thoroughbred Horses took this initiative to offer socio-professionals a real space for debate and exchange in order to contribute to the birth of a new culture based on dialogue, patriotic commitment and participatory democracy.

After a general presentation stating a real crisis that is hitting the equine sector in Morocco head-on, with as a major consequence the soaring prices of cereals which have been multiplied by three and the scarcity of barley, an essential staple food, observed everywhere in Morocco with immediate effects on the prices of horses which have collapsed in several regions considered to be traditional cradles of equine breeding.

The testimonies of the members and guests of this meeting also evoked the different aspects linked to the governance of the equine sector in a general way, notably the management of the breeding season which is beginning, the weakness of the supervision of breeders by the supervisory authorities and the absence of visibility regarding genetic improvement, the breeding policy and the ambition of the sector.

Several speakers underlined the commitment of Moroccan breeders on the path of genetic and breeding quality while recalling the problem of the representativeness of breeders within the structures dedicated to the management of equine affairs. Several tracks and practical ideas likely to help the country face the current crisis were submitted to the debate.

The meeting closed with the call of the Union of Breeders and Owners of Thoroughbred Horses launched to the competent authorities, and notably to the Ministry of Agriculture, for the implementation of an emergency action plan, in consultation with breeders and socio-professionals, in order to allow the sector to overcome this crisis and to preserve and develop the national equine heritage and the formidable achievements born from the encouragements and the ambition of His Majesty King Mohammed VI may God assist Him in favour of this symbol of the greatness of our nation".