Farmers in the rural commune of Jemaat Oulad Shyame (42 km from Safi) have nothing left to do but weep. A fire has reduced to ashes nearly 120 hectares of wheat and barley ready to be harvested.

The fire occurred on the afternoon of Sunday, 13 May. According to witnesses, it started in a wheat field not yet harvested near the Ibn Sina qualifying high school before spreading rapidly to neighbouring fields, destroying nearly 70 hectares.

The same sources indicated that another fire occurred a few metres from this locality, precisely at the places called Dar Zyati and Ben Abouch, and destroyed nearly 50 ha of barley and wheat fields.

And, no later than yesterday, in the same commune, another fire broke out in a field, destroying straw furniture.

Some attribute the causes of these disasters to the exceptional heatwave that has been prevailing in Morocco for nearly a week. According to some testimonies, meteorological conditions were favourable for the outbreak of the fire. Indeed, temperatures reached a peak of 45 degrees in the Abda region, accompanied by a "chergui" wind that further accentuates the heat.

For other inhabitants of this locality, the causes of these fires are to be sought in the heat generated by the exhaust emissions of combine harvesters. For some, it is clear that the fire was caused by these machines and was accentuated by the heatwave. But whatever the causes of these disasters, times will be hard for the affected farmers. The material damage caused by these fires is enormous. It is estimated at tens of millions of DH. "Each hectare produces nearly 50 quintals and each quintal of soft or hard wheat is sold on the market at 260 and 350 DH respectively. If we do the calculation, the fires in question caused a net loss of 2.1 million DH in hard wheat and 1.56 million DH in soft wheat," a farmer from the region specified to us.

"We have just come out of a period marked by drought which has strongly impacted us financially, and here we are back at square one. I find it lamentable," lamented an affected farmer. The same sentiment was echoed by his neighbour: "We relied a lot on this year to at least pay off our debts. But God seems to have had other designs for us, and in the face of this, we can do nothing."

Fatalistic remarks that speak volumes about the state of mind of many farmers, especially those who have not taken out insurance policies and who can now only rely on their own means to get by. Indeed, no semblance of aid will come to them from the State.

The latter seems more concerned with forest fires, as evidenced by the diligence shown by its services to overcome the fire that broke out on Saturday, 12 May, in the Chraqa region located south of the city of Tangier, which ravaged some 1.2 ha of a forest consisting mainly of Aleppo pine and secondary vegetation. Four Civil Protection units were, in fact, mobilised to contain the fire with the support of elements from the High Commission for Water and Forests and the Fight against Desertification, who managed to control the disaster despite the chergui winds and rising temperatures.

The same efforts were also deployed to overcome the fire that occurred in the Agousman forest located in the Chefchaouen province on Tuesday, 15 May, which ravaged nearly 7 ha.