It also aims to ensure the packaging and storage of some 5,000 tonnes of dates in the region.

This integrated project is part of a vast development programme for the date sector in Tafilalet, providing for the planting of a total of 2.25 million date palms and the expansion of palm grove areas.

Initially, it is planned to introduce 750,000 in vitro plants over 4,000 ha, the establishment of a nursery for the production of in vitro plants, and five date conditioning units.

In the interest of qualification and promotion of the oasis space, it will be proceeded, in a second phase, to the planting of 250,000 plants, the cleaning of 110,000 palm clumps, and the valorisation of the harvest through the organisation of farmers and the creation of a label for the "Mejhoul" variety. The ambition is to allow the reconstitution of palm groves and the improvement of the income and standard of living of the populations, with a view to giving a new impetus to the date sector.

Private operators (668.2 MDH), the State (450 MDH), and the Millennium Challenge Account (131.8 MDH) are contributing to the financing of the project.

The funds mobilised by the project partners will be intended for the equipment of palm groves (660 million DH), the valorisation of production (95 MDH), training, support, and accompaniment of farmers by making the necessary hydro-agricultural equipment available to them (315 MDH), and the acquisition of plants (180 MDH).

The promotion of the date palm sector in the Tafilalet region is a component of the date sector development programme, which is part of the "Green Morocco" plan.

This programme, endowed with a budget of 3.23 billion DH, sets as objectives the protection of palm groves, the reconstitution and rehabilitation of oases through the planting of 2.9 million in vitro plants, and the increase of production to reach 185,000 tonnes by 2030.

On the same occasion, H.M. the King inquired about the sustainable territorial development programme of the Tafilalet oases, the realisation of which requires 70 million DH. Extending over an area of 44,000 km2, this programme is implemented in the Ziz and Ghriss basins for the benefit of 350,000 farmers spread over 32 communes.

It aims by 2011 to boost the dynamic of sustainable development of the oases through the introduction of new agricultural techniques that respect the environment, the rationalisation of the collective use of water, the valorisation of production, and the adaptation of the legal and institutional framework specific to the oasis space. The sustainable territorial development programme of the Tafilalet oases is the result of a partnership between the Ministry of Housing, Urbanism and Spatial Planning, the Ministry of the Interior, the National Initiative for Human Development (INDH), the Social Development Agency, the UNDP, the Principality of Monaco, the French Global Environment Facility, and the French Development Agency.

Within the framework of this same programme, explanations were provided to the Sovereign on an integrated project for the promotion of ecological culture in the El Jorf oasis (Errachidia province), at a cost of 1.517 million DH. This project, which benefits 216 farmers, has as objectives the development of agricultural production, the improvement of the beneficiaries' income, the creation of 40 stable jobs, and the promotion of rational exploitation of natural resources.

H.M. the King also followed a presentation of the programme for the valorisation of date paste and derivatives with improvement of storage and marketing conditions, implemented within the framework of a partnership between the INDH and the Regional Office for Agricultural Development of Tafilalet.

At a cost of 520,000 DH, this programme is intended for four associations in the communes of Aoufous, Rissani, Goulmima, and Erfoud. It sets as goals the improvement of the quality of date production and the working conditions of rural women, thanks to the equipment of four date paste production units and the continuous training of the beneficiaries.

Subsequently, the Sovereign proceeded to the presentation of agricultural equipment for the valorisation of the date product and the manufacture and packaging of date paste to several farmers in the Tafilalet region, with a view to contributing to the improvement of their income. The date palm represents the backbone of agriculture in the Tafilalet region, with about 1,500,000 trees producing on average 26,000 tonnes/year (average over 10 years), i.e., 26% of national production. The average annual value of production is estimated at 260 million dirhams.

The date palm sector, which generates 1.5 million working days per year, contributes to the stability of the rural population in the oases and contributes 65% to the formation of the income of oasis farms.