23/04/2008
Morocco will earmark $20.67 billion to upgrade and diversify the farming sector, Reuters quoted Agriculture Minister Aziz Akhennouch as saying on Tuesday (April 22nd). "Morocco's agriculture must become an engine to expand the country's economic growth, boost exports and fight poverty," Akhennouch said. Agriculture employs 15m farmers and their families in Morocco, and accounts for 20% of the country's GDP. Describing other improvements to Moroccan agriculture, Akhennouch said cereals would be replaced with more lucrative crops such as olives. Such a plan, he said, "is expected to create 1 million new jobs in rural areas and to increase the contribution of the farming sector to GDP by 70-100 billion dirhams".