The Minister of Agriculture and Maritime Fisheries, Aziz Akhannouch, co-chaired on this occasion, with the United States Ambassador to Rabat, Samuel Kaplan, the signing ceremony of 4 contracts by the Director General of the Millennium Challenge Account-Morocco (MCA), Morad Abid, and the representatives of companies that will be in charge of carrying out these development works. The total amount of these contracts amounts to 260.8 million DH.

These development works for the "fruit arboriculture" project, endowed with a budget of 300.9 million dollars, concern 6 irrigated perimeters with an area of nearly 18,000 ha located in the provinces of Chichaoua, Boulmane, Errachidia, Ouarzazate, and Zagora.

Mr Akhannouch indicated, in a statement to the press, that these contracts, which concern several agricultural regions, notably Zagora, Ouarzazate, and Errachidia, will allow for the realisation of several basic hydro-agricultural infrastructures in all of these regions.

These projects, he noted, will give a new impetus to the agriculture sector in these regions.

For his part, Mr Kaplan emphasised the importance of these projects that will be carried out by virtue of these contracts, which projects, he said, are in harmony with the objectives that fall within the framework of the national strategy in the field of agriculture, in accordance with the guidelines of H.M. the King aimed at improving the living conditions of the Moroccan population, notably the social categories with limited income.