"The development of mountainous regions, dependent on the promotion of local products" is the theme of a study day organised recently in Tahanaout (Al Haouz province), at the initiative of the regional directorate of agriculture (DRA) of Marrakech.

Initiated in partnership with the province and the association "Friends of Toubkal National Park for the protection of the environment and the preservation of the walnut tree", this meeting is part of the implementation of the objectives of the Green Morocco Plan and the INDH at the local level, notably the fight against poverty and various forms of social exclusion, through the development of agricultural structures including agricultural production chains.

The speakers at this meeting, devoted essentially to the promotion of the walnut tree, stressed the importance of this tree on the economic and social levels, particularly for local populations, highlighting the close relationship existing between the walnut production chain and the tools and mechanisms for modernising the agricultural sector, notably agricultural infrastructure.

They also pleaded in favour of structuring agricultural cooperatives, organising farmers within the framework of professional structures and economic interest groups (EIGs), with a view to strengthening their technical and organisational capacities in order to increase production and better master the techniques of promotion and, above all, those of marketing.