The second edition of the "Moussem Aknari," organised over three days by the "Ifni Initiatives" Association, opened on Friday in Sidi Ifni, under the theme "Valorisation of local products, a lever for sustainable development."
The first day of this economic event, which took place in the presence of the Governor of the province, Saleh Edha, elected officials, and heads of external services, was marked by the opening of a local products fair bringing together exhibitions of cactus and derivatives, honey, argan oil and derivatives, saffron, homemade couscous, milk derivatives, herbal tea, olives, henna, and dates.
On this occasion, the Governor and the delegation accompanying him visited the various stands of the fair, which also includes pottery products, silver jewellery, carpets, and traditional Sahrawi clothing.
This event is an opportunity to make the prickly pear of Aït Baâmrane known, one of the species most renowned for its quality and taste, and to highlight the contribution of this plant as a source of income for a good part of the rural population of this young province.
It also aims to promote the natural potential of the Aït Baâmrane region with a view to exploiting it for the development of tourism and the revitalisation of economic activity in the city.
On the programme for this Moussem, organised in collaboration with the prefecture of the province, the Municipal Council, and several partners, is a conference on the theme "The cactus chain of Aït Baamrane and territorial development," as well as a round table on "Eco-tourism in Sidi Ifni and development perspectives," in addition to water sports competitions, a morning for children, and fantasia shows.
On the artistic side, the organisers have scheduled Amazigh and Hassani music shows, with the participation of several local groups and artists and others from other regions.
According to data from the provincial directorate of agriculture, prickly pear plants cover an area of 40,000 hectares at the provincial level, for an annual production of 230,000 tonnes.
The cactus, the only plant to adapt to the arid climatic conditions of the South, is full of several assets, ranging from fresh fruit, to be valued, among other things, in a "Bio" framework, to technologies for extracting useful molecules for dietetics and cosmetics, as well as a multitude of local products with high added value.
Within the framework of the programme for the valorisation of this plant, several actions have been undertaken by the public authorities, particularly in terms of opening up production areas by road over a length of 105 km, which required an investment of 57 million DH.
The actions also consist of encouraging producers to organise themselves into cooperatives and providing assistance to create better conditions for harvesting, packaging, and marketing prickly pears.
Within the framework of the development actions for this sector, a cactus fruit packaging unit was built on an area of 2,460 m2, equipped with modern equipment for an investment of 21 million DH, as well as two cactus collection centres in the communes of Sbouya and Mesti for a value of 3 million DH.
Other projects will see the light of day during the 2015-2017 period, announces the provincial directorate of agriculture, notably the planting of 300 hectares of cactus, the construction of 8 water reserves (matfiyas), the construction of roads, the construction of three product valorisation units, and the organisation of training sessions and trips for a budget of 15 million DH.
