MOROCCO: Despite heavy rainfalls in northern Morocco, authorities encourage water saving

Record ID: 699618

  • Title: MOROCCO: Despite heavy rainfalls in northern Morocco, authorities encourage water saving
  • Date: 27th March 2009
  • Summary: SCHOOL CHILDREN TAKING PART IN CREATIVE WORKSHOP ON WATER ISSUES
  • Embargoed: 11th April 2009 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Morocco
  • Country: Morocco
  • Topics: Domestic Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVAEICAVTIK2MQZNXQ8E3V0YE5ZR
  • Story Text: Rural areas of Gharb in northwestern Morocco are not suffering from water deficit. It is rich in groundwater, many rivers flow through it and dams ensure constant water supply to the area.
    Moreover, this year winter rainfalls hit records high and have flooded more than 80,000 hectares of arable lands, the worst floods the area has seen in living memory, to the extent that some farmers have lost everything.
    But nevertheless, government and local authorities run a campaign to raise awareness for water saving amongst farmers, local households and school children, because they say more than 80 percent of the water used in irrigation is simply wasted.
    In the medium and long run, they say, Morocco could be hit by drought, as it is witnessing a continuing cycle of drought since the early 1980s, and so the country should be vigilant about its water resources.
    A group of NGO and local officials from Kenitra District, some 45 km north of Rabat, visited farms near the flooded areas and encourages farmers to install drip water irrigation systems, to better utilise their water consumption and use.
    "Our objective is to encourage local people to use water sensibly and not to dry the groundwater because the Gharb area is rich in pure groundwater. Our duty is to ask the local people that water should be used in a rational way, mainly water destined for soil irrigation," said Abdelkarim Naaman who chairs a local NGO called Nalsiya for development, environment and social affairs.
    The Moroccan government also takes part in the efforts to save water.
    For years the government has run a plan destined to improve irrigation systems to achieve sustainable development of land productivity. Through subsidies of up to 60 percent, the agriculture ministry has granted funds to supply and install water saving irrigation systems, such as drip irrigation. But the scheme faced serious obstacles, as about half of 1.5 million Moroccan farms in the country are run by small and medium scale families who lack resources to invest in new irrigation equipment.
    Hicham el Amr, a local officer for agriculture investment, said the government offers incentives to farmers to use water saving products in their work.
    "The state offers the farmers incentives that could reach 60 per cent when they choose to go for drip irrigation systems. The state also offers them incentives to choose products using this technique such as citrus fruits.
    It also helps them acquire the machinery they need," he said during a field tour.
    But converting from gravity fed irrigation to local or drip irrigation systems is an expensive move. Farmers say they do want to adopt new technologies, but they are put off by overwhelming bureaucracy.
    "This is an excellent initiative to save water by using the drip irrigation technique. The problem is that small farmers cannot apply this technique because the authorities say they are helping them but when they apply for the incentives they are disappointed because of the red tape,"
    said local farmer Mansour Belhaouat from Kenitra Province.
    To raise awareness in the Kenitra area to one of the challenges in Morocco's Green Plan, saving water, Nalsiya has organised a water festival on March 19-23, under the theme 'No to Wasting Water'.
    The festival focused on farmers and school children, aiming to educate the young to save water and present adults with new techniques and ways to do it.
    Festival organisers toured schools in Kenitra, where teachers and students took part in special classes discussing the importance of saving water and ways of doing it.
    School pupil Youssef told Reuters what he had learnt from the festival.
    "We should use water sensibly and not waste it because it is a necessary commodity to our body."
    The main venue of the festival featured a local folklore band, displays of irrigation systems and other products to help save water and children's workshops.
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