A capitalization workshop on cooperation between the World Bank (WB) and the Department of Agriculture was organized on Tuesday in Rabat to strengthen cooperation in priority areas of the agricultural sector as well as to support the implementation of the “Green Generation” strategy.
This workshop, chaired by the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, Rural Development and Water and Forests, Mohamed Sadiki, who was accompanied by the Director of WB Operations for the Maghreb and Malta, Jesko Hentschel, focused on the analysis of achievements and main lessons of cooperation between the WB and the Ministry, the priority areas of cooperation and the prospects for future cooperation. It responds to a common desire to appreciate the quality of this cooperation in order to develop it further.
Speaking on this occasion, Mr. Sadiki praised the quality of relations with the WB, which is at the top of the international technical and financial institutions that support the development and modernization of the Moroccan agricultural sector, stressing that in the current context, characterized by the effects of climate change, water shortage and drought, the Covid-19 pandemic and the consequences of the Russian-Ukrainian war, in particular on the supply chains of inputs and food products, the strategic orientations of the future roadmap to support the implementation of the “Green Generation” strategy will mainly focus on strengthening the sector’s resilience and the country’s food security.
The contribution of the World Bank in support of the development and modernization of the agricultural sector has exceeded 1.13 billion dollars since the launch of the Green Morocco Plan (PMV), indicated the minister, adding that in addition, the support from the WB to the agricultural sector also materializes through technical assistance and analytical contributions.
Support to the PMV focused on the areas of modernization of large-scale irrigation, strengthening and modernization of agri-food value chains, innovation in agri-business, health and food security, agricultural advice, resilience to climate change and structural reforms, he said.
The WB is one of the first donors to support the new Generation Green strategy through two programs for nearly 4 billion dirhams. These are the support program for Generation Green and the resilience and sustainability program for irrigation. The first program aims to strengthen rural youth entrepreneurship, modernize marketing channels, promote exports and promote climate-smart practices and the second program aims to strengthen irrigation governance, improve quality of irrigation services and improved access to modern irrigation technologies.
Another program, that of strengthening agrifood value chains, developed during the implementation of the Green Morocco Plan and ending in 2023, supports key infrastructure for the modernization of these value chains. Including the Large Hydraulics modernization project which closes at the end of 2022, the World Bank’s total active portfolio amounts to $780 million.
Discussions around the future cooperation roadmap focused on the continuation of ongoing projects and support for strategic priorities, in particular issues of food sovereignty, mitigation of the effects of climate change, youth employment in rural areas, agricultural insurance and digitalisation.
This workshop was attended by senior officials from the World Bank and ministry officials.
