The evaluation carried out by the Tadla Regional Technical Sugar Committee (CTRST), on the eve of the completion of the 2013-2014 sugar beet campaign, reveals exceptional results in terms of production, yield and polarisation (sugar content). Indeed, the cultivated area is 14,880 hectares, of which 77% are sown mechanically, which has had a positive effect on the average stand achieved, which is 86,000 plants per hectare. Thus, the average yield per hectare was 69 tonnes (68.4 tonnes per hectare in Doukkala-Abda) against 64.5 t/ha recorded in 2013, an increase of 8%. Note that the yield at 16.5% richness is 80 tonnes per hectare. As for the final production, it exceeds that achieved in 2013 by 25% (1,007,866 tonnes against 809,000). In terms of richness, the results achieved during this campaign also record a very satisfactory level, equivalent to 19.03%, thus generating a value paid to farmers amounting to 530 million dirhams, against an average of 450 million dirhams during the last 5 campaigns (an increase of 18%). The CTRST also notes the importance of the average income recorded, which is 37,342 dirhams per hectare, i.e. 1,700 dirhams more per hectare compared to the 2012-2013 campaign. These performances are the result of a strategy based on the main axes of the PAR, namely the introduction of new technologies in terms of seed (generalisation of monogerm), mechanisation (generalisation of sowing mechanisation), rationalisation and programming of fertilisation, good programming of irrigation and harvesting operations and an early start to the campaign (22 April 2014), without forgetting the timely rainfall. Added to this is the judicious choice of inputs, in particular the introduction of high-performance seed varieties resistant to rhizomania and rot (infection), the full mechanisation of the crop's technical train, the mastery of agricultural warning, the strengthening of farmer supervision based on an approach of grouping farmers' holdings into supervision classes according to the performance achieved. This approach thus facilitates the intervention of supervision teams in the field and the mastery of maintenance, phytosanitary treatment and chemical weeding operations and the establishment of an observatory for monitoring and detecting insects and infections harmful to sugar beet production.

To these actions is added the symbiosis that reigns between the members of the CTRST and the partners, as well as the quality of the services provided to farmers in terms of planning sowing, harvesting, irrigation and receiving production. Also, these results also arouse great satisfaction among farmers regarding the profitability achieved per hectare, which will undoubtedly lead to massive adherence of farmers to the sugar beet programme for the next campaign.

The latter will see the implementation of the aggregation convention for the Tadla-Azilal sector, which will have a positive effect on securing and improving the performance achieved in the region. Advocacy for the improvement of the sector: During the closing ceremony of the campaign, the president of the Sugar Beet Producers Association urged the public authorities to improve the processing capacity of the Oulad Ayad sugar refinery, in order to satisfy local demand and increase the area dedicated to the cultivation of this strategic plant. He also called for the intensification of the mechanisation of the technical sector, the valorisation and encouragement of the role of producers, the development of scientific research and experimentation, the generalisation of health coverage to cover the entire population, and the increase in financial assistance, particularly for small farmers, due to the rising costs of expenses allocated to sugar beet production. For their part, some speakers raised issues relating to the status of the seasonal worker, the fate reserved for the small farmer, and the impact of the sugar refinery on the environment. The ceremony was also marked by the distribution of gifts, rewards and certificates of merit to employees and farmers who distinguished themselves by their efforts at work and by the quality of their sugar beet product.