The Regional Directorate of Agriculture stated in a press release that it has mobilised, in coordination with the National Association of Sheep and Goat Breeders, the Regional Office for Agricultural Investment of the Gharb, the Provincial Directorates of Agriculture, and the Regional Directorate of Agricultural Advisory, 81 field researchers in charge of the census operation, as well as regional supervisors and 05 provincial supervisors, to monitor and support the census operation within 122 territorial communes belonging to the seven provinces of the region.
The same source explained that this operation, which runs until the end of this December, is part of the 2024 General Census of the National Livestock Herd, launched by the Ministry of Agriculture, Maritime Fisheries, Rural Development and Water and Forests, and the National Association of Sheep and Goat Breeders in coordination with local authorities, under the slogan "Our livestock, our country's wealth", with the aim of providing accurate and updated data on the national sheep and goat herd, its composition, and its geographical distribution, as well as determining the extent to which livestock farmers have been affected by the impact of consecutive years of drought.
The census operation also aims to collect data using forms specifically designed for this purpose regarding the number of livestock heads by breed, type, gender, and age groups, and to update figures and data, with the goal of rebuilding the herd, restructuring it, and rehabilitating the red meat chain with a view to achieving food security.
The Directorate noted that the livestock census operation in the region has been allocated all the necessary logistical and technical resources to enable field researchers to carry out their work through individual field visits to farmers or through reception and gathering points for livestock farmers, noting that 71 communes out of the 122 rural communes concerned have been covered so far.
The Regional Directorate of Agriculture calls on all livestock farmers, as well as all stakeholders in the sector, to engage widely and effectively and to respond to the census teams and field researchers, to ensure the success of the census operation for sheep and goat herds in the region with the aim of developing an integrated development policy to promote and rehabilitate the sheep and goat farming sector.
