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Morocco Bans Water-Intensive Red Watermelon Farming Amid Severe Drought
Saturday 5 March 2022, by
Faced with the drought that is raging this year in Morocco, the government has decided to ban the cultivation of red watermelon, a fruit that would contribute greatly to the water stress observed in the southeast of the country.
According to the Minister of Equipment and Water, Nizar Baraka, watermelon is a crop with high added value and high yield for the agricultural sector, but it consumes large quantities of water for two or three months of the year.
As a result, the executive has decided to ban this production, to respond to the drying up of the taps. It will ensure the strict application of this decision, the minister assured, stressing that the goal is not to stop production altogether, but to work according to a rational logic and in a way that allows water resources to be saved.
This month, "the government will launch a groundwater contract in order to determine the quantities of water to be consumed and identify the type of agriculture to be developed in these areas" based on a participatory approach with elected officials and the various stakeholders, he concluded.