The SNAPT is being held for the 3rd consecutive year in Agadir. The 2015 edition brings something new and allows for more requests to be met.
The 3rd National Exhibition of Local Products (SNAPT), organised by the Souss-Massa-Drâa Regional Chamber of Agriculture from 2 to 6 April at the Place Bijawane in Agadir, opened its doors to the public on Thursday with a rich programme of activities and scientific workshops.
The opening ceremony of this event, placed under the theme "Our intangible capital is also our local products", was enhanced by the presence notably of the Secretary General of the Ministry of Agriculture and Maritime Fisheries Mohamed Sadki, the Wali of the region Mohamed El Yazid Zellou, the President of the Regional Council Brahim Hafidi, the Governor of the Inezgane Aït Melloul prefecture Hamid Chennouri, the President of the Regional Chamber of Agriculture Ali Kayouh, and elected officials and deputies of the region.
Spread over an area of 3000 m2, this Exhibition, which will see the participation of 150 exhibitors, provides for a series of conferences and thematic workshops, tasting sessions, educational and cultural activities and artistic and musical evenings with the participation of folk troupes.
On the menu of the scientific programme are two workshops led by a host of associative actors, institutional stakeholders and Moroccan and foreign researchers. The first deals with territorial development through consultation between the different actors and the second focuses on the cooperative as an ideal framework for the aggregation and valorisation of local products.
The organisers also provide for circuits of local products for the benefit of African cooperatives and others representing different regions of the Kingdom, with field visits to professional organisations and associations that have proven themselves in the SMD region, known for the diversity of its agricultural and local products.
In a statement to the MAP, the Regional Director of Agriculture Hrou Brou stressed that the organisation of this Exhibition in Agadir derives its importance from the fact that the agricultural sector in the SMD region contributes more than 80% to the national production of early vegetables, more than 70% of citrus fruits and more than 70% of local products.
The region's contribution to these products, which are part of the 2nd pillar of the Green Morocco Plan, is distributed between cactus, which covers more than 50% of production and areas at the national level, 70% of argan, 99% of saffron and 90% of dates.
This 3rd edition of the Exhibition, whose guest of honour is Tunisia, aims, according to its initiators, to promote local products and their development potential, provide a platform for direct sales of products, draw attention to the importance of this sector and serve as a space for the exchange of ideas and experiences.
The previous edition of the SNAPT, built on an area of 1500 m2, saw the participation of 100 exhibitors and attracted some 25 thousand visitors.
Data from the Regional Directorate of Agriculture show that local products cover large areas since they occupy, in 2015, more than 50 thousand hectares for prickly pears, with an annual production of 490 thousand tonnes, 1600 hectares for saffron (5 tonnes), 800 hectares for roses (1650 tonnes), 160 thousand beehives (one thousand tonnes), nearly 684 thousand hectares for argan (more than 248 thousand tonnes), 1400 hectares for henna (7600 tonnes) and 41 thousand hectares for dates (42 thousand tonnes).
