This workshop, which brought together researchers, experts, agricultural consultants, and professionals, served as a space for discussion and exchange of views on agroforestry as a promising alternative for mitigation, adaptation, and resilience in the face of climate change.
On this occasion, the speakers emphasized the challenges of agroforestry related to natural resource management and the mitigation of global warming, on the one hand, and the achievements of research in the field of managing intercropping and agroforestry systems that integrate livestock, on the other.
The workshop was marked by a series of presentations that focused on the "Innovative Agroforestry Systems" project, "Agroforestry in the Oriental and Fes-Meknes regions: research results and prospects," and "Conservation agriculture based on intercropping, afforestation, and direct seeding."
The researcher at the Regional Centre for Agricultural Research in Meknes, Rachid Razzouk, stated to the Maghreb Arabe Presse (MAP) that this workshop provides an opportunity for participants to study and discuss a project dedicated to agroforestry, explaining that this project is an initiative of the National Institute for Agricultural Research in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture and private sector actors.
The aforementioned project aims to address the growing challenge of climate change by developing and improving the agroforestry system practiced by farmers, to make it more modern and integrate it into a national program, similar to other programs of the Ministry of Agriculture.
He noted that these programs include several projects related to carob, almond, and cactus cultivation, among others, pointing out that the goal of the Oujda workshop, which is the fifth of its kind at the national level, lies in enriching the roadmap project aimed at developing agroforestry within the framework of a national program.
This program includes the introduction or intensification of agroforestry practices in areas particularly exposed to climatic and water stress, the introduction of agroforestry into large-scale farming systems, and the development of agroforestry and pastoralism in suitable areas, such as the Oriental region, the Rehamna region, or even the Anti-Atlas.
It also includes the integration of agroforestry and livestock farming (fodder shrubs) and the rehabilitation of existing pastures, in addition to significantly intensifying existing agroforestry systems.
Qualitatively, the program's objectives are to improve the productivity and profitability of production systems and the socio-economic conditions of small producers, as well as to improve sustainability and adaptability to climate change, thanks to the conservation of resources (soil, water, and biodiversity).
Quantitatively, the aforementioned program aims to reach, by 2030, the integration of approximately 500,000 hectares into the agroforestry system, the planting of 50 million trees, and the registration of 100,000 farmers.
Regarding the target areas, five candidate regions with distinct and complementary characteristics have been identified: the Pre-Rif region (Fes-Meknes region), the Eastern Plateaus region (Oriental region), the Rehamna and High Atlas regions (Marrakech-Safi region), and the Argan forests (Souss-Massa/Essaouira region).
For his part, Abdelmajid Bechari, a research engineer at the Regional Centre for Agricultural Research in Oujda, affiliated with the National Institute for Agricultural Research and head of the "Research and Development" department, said that this workshop on agroforestry comes as the culmination of a series of meetings to raise farmers' awareness of the importance, rationalization, and effective management of water.
He added that field tours were carried out in the Oriental region, especially in Berkane, Taourirt, and Guercif, to raise farmers' awareness of the importance of alternative crops that do not require much water, with a focus on agroforestry, which is a means of exploiting agricultural land and combining trees with crops or livestock.
