Morocco Leads African Food Security Efforts at Nairobi Summit

This vision for Africa, which does not come from nowhere, resonates with a national vision, through which the kingdom has chosen to implement ambitious strategies to improve agricultural productivity, stressed the head of Moroccan diplomacy representing King Mohammed VI at the summit, before specifying that the royal vision in this field is deployed through three instruments. These are the OCP Group, the operational arm of this vision and the continental leader in the fertilizer market, the Ministry of Agriculture, the custodian of public policies and sectoral strategies in the field of agriculture, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the guardian of the orderly execution of the royal vision of South-South cooperation.

Deferring to the high royal directives, Morocco has developed sectoral development strategies, the Green Morocco Plan, launched in 2008, and more recently, the "Generation Green Plan", said Nasser Bourita, noting that these strategies are based on two fundamental pillars. These are the modernization of agriculture and the agri-food industries and the solidarity development of family farming. Beyond food availability, the Moroccan approach promotes an integrated approach; that of the socio-economic development of the rural world and investment in agriculture, as a sector offering huge opportunities for the creation of wealth and employment for young people, he added. For him, agricultural development and food security are not only a strategic priority for Morocco, but also the main objectives of South-South cooperation.

In this spirit of African solidarity, Morocco has undertaken to share its experience and good practices with its African brother countries, Bourita continued. According to his explanations, the Moroccan approach favors the establishment of lasting partnerships. These actions include, among others, the launch during COP22 of the Triple A Initiative for the Adaptation of African Agriculture to climate change; the launch in 2016 of the Triple S Initiative with the Republic of Senegal, which aims to support Sustainability, Stability and Security in Africa; the opening of 12 representations in all four corners of the continent and the strengthening of fertilizer production and distribution, through the launch of 8 industrial projects in Africa, including 3 new storage and blending platforms, as well as the launch of 46 development projects across Africa, focused on improving soil fertility and agronomic training, to promote sustainable agricultural practices, and the development of initiatives such as the "Agribooster" program, which provides comprehensive support to farmers, including access to fertilizers and seeds; or the "Farm&Fortune Hubs" program, which transforms small farms into productive agricultural enterprises.

To meet Africa’s needs, the OCP Group has allocated 20% of its fertilizer production to it, while offering 180,000 tons of soil nutrients as aid, and 370,000 tons at reduced prices, said Bourita, specifying that these volumes represent respectively 16% of the current African demand and 25% of the group’s sales on the continent. According to him, the group plans to increase its production by 2 million tons this year, thus underlining its commitment to African agriculture. Backed by this presence, OCP is now positioned in Africa as the leading supplier of fertilizers, but also the leading provider of agricultural know-how, particularly through Mobile Laboratories deployed in several countries on the continent.