The Regional Centre for Agricultural Research (CRRA) of Oujda hosted, on Tuesday, a workshop for the implementation of a roadmap project on agroforestry in the Oriental region.
This meeting, which brought together researchers, experts, agricultural advisors, and professionals, served as a space for debate and exchange regarding agroforestry as a promising alternative for mitigation, adaptation, and resilience to climate change.
The interventions made on this occasion focused particularly on the challenges of agroforestry associated with the management of natural resources and the mitigation of global warming, on the one hand, and the achievements of research in terms of managing intercropping systems and agroforestry systems integrating livestock, on the other.
The workshop was marked by a series of presentations focused on the "Innovative Agroforestry Systems" project, "Agroforestry in the Oriental region: research achievements and prospects", "Agroforestry in the Fez-Meknes region: research achievements and prospects", and "Conservation agriculture based on intercropping, afforestation, and direct seeding".
In a statement to the MAP, Rachid Razzouk, a researcher at the Regional Centre for Agricultural Research (CRRA) of Meknes, explained that this workshop provides an opportunity for participants to examine and debate a project dedicated to agroforestry, specifying that this project, which is an initiative of the National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA), will be conducted in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture and private sector stakeholders.
The said project was designed to address the growing challenge of climate change by developing and improving the agroforestry system practised by farmers, in order to make it more modern and integrate it into a national programme, similar to other programmes of the Ministry of Agriculture.
These programmes include several projects concerning the planting of carob, almond, cactus, and others, he recalled, specifying that the objective of the Oujda workshop, the fifth of its kind at the national level, is to enrich a draft roadmap aimed at the development of agroforestry within the framework of a national programme.
This programme consists of introducing or intensifying agroforestry practices in regions particularly vulnerable to climate and water stress, introducing agroforestry into large-scale farming systems, and developing agro-sylvo-pastoralism in suitable regions, such as the Oriental, the Rehamna area, or the Anti-Atlas.
It also involves integrating agroforestry and livestock (fodder shrubs) and rehabilitating existing rangelands, in addition to significantly intensifying existing agroforestry systems.
Qualitatively, the objectives are the improvement of the productivity and profitability of production systems and the socio-economic conditions of small-scale producers, in addition to the improvement of sustainability and resilience to climate change, thanks to the conservation of resources (soil, water, and biodiversity).
Quantitatively, the said project or programme aims to reach 500,000 hectares in agroforestry systems, 50 million trees planted, and 100,000 farmers enrolled by 2030.
Regarding the target perimeters, five candidate zones with distinct and complementary characteristics have been identified, namely the pre-Rif (Fez-Meknes region), the Oriental Plateaus (Oriental region), Rehamna (Marrakech-Safi region), the High Atlas (Marrakech-Safi region), and the argan forest (Souss-Massa/Essaouira region).
For his part, Abdelmajid Bechari, an engineer-researcher at the Regional Centre for Agricultural Research of Oujda, under the INRA, and head of the 'research and development' department, stated that this workshop on agroforestry crowns a series of awareness-raising meetings for farmers on the importance of rationalisation and efficient water management.
He added that tours were carried out in the Oriental region, notably in Berkane, Taourirt, and Guercif, to raise farmers' awareness of the importance of alternative crops that do not require much water, highlighting agroforestry, which is a method of agricultural land use combining trees and crops or livestock.
This meeting, which brought together researchers, experts, agricultural advisors, and professionals, served as a space for debate and exchange regarding agroforestry as a promising alternative for mitigation, adaptation, and resilience to climate change.
The interventions made on this occasion focused particularly on the challenges of agroforestry associated with the management of natural resources and the mitigation of global warming, on the one hand, and the achievements of research in terms of managing intercropping systems and agroforestry systems integrating livestock, on the other.
The workshop was marked by a series of presentations focused on the "Innovative Agroforestry Systems" project, "Agroforestry in the Oriental region: research achievements and prospects", "Agroforestry in the Fez-Meknes region: research achievements and prospects", and "Conservation agriculture based on intercropping, afforestation, and direct seeding".
In a statement to the MAP, Rachid Razzouk, a researcher at the Regional Centre for Agricultural Research (CRRA) of Meknes, explained that this workshop provides an opportunity for participants to examine and debate a project dedicated to agroforestry, specifying that this project, which is an initiative of the National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA), will be conducted in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture and private sector stakeholders.
The said project was designed to address the growing challenge of climate change by developing and improving the agroforestry system practised by farmers, in order to make it more modern and integrate it into a national programme, similar to other programmes of the Ministry of Agriculture.
These programmes include several projects concerning the planting of carob, almond, cactus, and others, he recalled, specifying that the objective of the Oujda workshop, the fifth of its kind at the national level, is to enrich a draft roadmap aimed at the development of agroforestry within the framework of a national programme.
This programme consists of introducing or intensifying agroforestry practices in regions particularly vulnerable to climate and water stress, introducing agroforestry into large-scale farming systems, and developing agro-sylvo-pastoralism in suitable regions, such as the Oriental, the Rehamna area, or the Anti-Atlas.
It also involves integrating agroforestry and livestock (fodder shrubs) and rehabilitating existing rangelands, in addition to significantly intensifying existing agroforestry systems.
Qualitatively, the objectives are the improvement of the productivity and profitability of production systems and the socio-economic conditions of small-scale producers, in addition to the improvement of sustainability and resilience to climate change, thanks to the conservation of resources (soil, water, and biodiversity).
Quantitatively, the said project or programme aims to reach 500,000 hectares in agroforestry systems, 50 million trees planted, and 100,000 farmers enrolled by 2030.
Regarding the target perimeters, five candidate zones with distinct and complementary characteristics have been identified, namely the pre-Rif (Fez-Meknes region), the Oriental Plateaus (Oriental region), Rehamna (Marrakech-Safi region), the High Atlas (Marrakech-Safi region), and the argan forest (Souss-Massa/Essaouira region).
For his part, Abdelmajid Bechari, an engineer-researcher at the Regional Centre for Agricultural Research of Oujda, under the INRA, and head of the 'research and development' department, stated that this workshop on agroforestry crowns a series of awareness-raising meetings for farmers on the importance of rationalisation and efficient water management.
He added that tours were carried out in the Oriental region, notably in Berkane, Taourirt, and Guercif, to raise farmers' awareness of the importance of alternative crops that do not require much water, highlighting agroforestry, which is a method of agricultural land use combining trees and crops or livestock.
