Authorities Seize Illegal Pumps Used for Wastewater Irrigation Near Casablanca

These unscrupulous farmers use these pumps to water large areas of land with wastewater. All this equipment was seized during the operation carried out on Sunday by the elements of the Royal Gendarmerie in the prefecture of Nouaceur, in the Casablanca-Settat region.

The authorities recently seized along the Ouled Amer area, near the province of Berrechid, about 20 medium-sized wastewater pumps, one large pump, as well as more than 27 large capacity gas bottles. However, farmers in certain agricultural areas continue to engage in these illegal practices without being worried, notes Ahmed Bioud, consumer protection consultant at the Casablanca Consumer Protection Center.

In a statement to Alyoum24, he explained that the health safety standards provided for by law 28.07 are not respected in areas like Al Qariah near Témara, where irrigation continues, despite the pollution of the water table by a landfill. "On the road to Médiouna, there is also a landfill nearby, where the situation is similar, to the point that one can see livestock grazing among the waste," he added.

The specialist also denounces the laxity of the National Office of Food Safety (ONSSA) under the Ministry of Agriculture, stressing that strict control of products in the wholesale markets would have made it easier to detect those that do not meet the required standards and to determine their origin.