The provincial council of Khénifra, which met recently in an ordinary session, approved a convention relating to the upgrading of small and medium irrigation and agricultural development at the level of the province. The result of a partnership between the Ministry of Agriculture and Maritime Fisheries, the Regional Chamber of Agriculture of Meknès-Tafilalet, and the provincial council of Khénifra, this convention, which reflects the importance attached by the supervisory department to solidarity-based agriculture within the framework of the Green Morocco Plan (Pillar II), essentially aims at the valorisation of water resources as well as the promotion of the living and working conditions of farmers at the level of this province. Several projects, the implementation of which is spread over the 2012-2015 period, are programmed in this context for a total cost estimated at 135.89 million dirhams (MDH) provided by the supervisory ministry, while the provincial council is in charge of supervising the beneficiary populations and facilitating the implementation of the various planned actions and the realisation of the planned projects. Under the terms of this convention, the Regional Chamber of Agriculture should, for its part, ensure the organisation and federation of farmers within associations and cooperatives, the accompaniment of beneficiaries in the realisation of projects, and their awareness regarding the importance of the programmed actions, through the organisation of study days and training sessions. The provisions of the said convention provide, on the other hand, for the establishment of a commission in charge of monitoring and evaluating the various phases of the implementation of the programmed projects. As for the upgrading of small and medium irrigation, the planned projects relate to the realisation of hydro-agricultural works on 700 ha in the Amghas zone (33.27 MDH), the installation of localised irrigation on 800 ha (43.20 MDH), and the upgrading of small and medium irrigation perimeters on an area of 905 ha (17.5 MDH). Regarding the agricultural development of the Azaghar region, the chosen projects concern the modernisation and valorisation of honey production (2.2 MDH), the strengthening of milk production (24.36 MDH), and the valorisation of almond production (15.36 MDH).

By: MAP