Drought Slashes Morocco’s Cereal Production by 50%, Yield Falls to 52 Million Quintals

A 50% drop in cereal production is announced this year compared to the previous season, which was a successful year in terms of both yield and rainfall, according to the telquel website. The same media also indicates that the final production of the three main cereals is estimated at 52 million quintals, a 30% drop compared to an average "Green Morocco Plan" year (75 million quintals).

This yield can be understood by the long period of drought. Indeed, the rainfall for this season has also seen a decrease of 11%, or 290.5mm, lower than the 30-year average (326.mm), the same source reports, specifying that the rainfall for this season was also characterized by poor temporal distribution.

Since cereal production was a factor of vulnerability in agricultural production, a study published by the Department of Studies and Financial Forecasts (DEPF) had recommended to the Ministry of Agriculture the acceleration of the reform of this sector through the conversion of cereals in unfavorable areas towards more drought-resistant productions.

With this decline in the agricultural sector, economic growth is slowing down. It fell to 2.7% in 2019, compared to 3% in 2018 and 4% in 2017. According to the same source, compensation is expected from the "good production performance of other sectors, in particular, citrus fruits, olives and industrial crops".