2024-07-16 13:12:09
Initiated by student associations from various fields, including topography, agronomy, the agri-food industry, fisheries, rural engineering and veterinary medicine, this fair constitutes a platform conducive to exchanges between key players in the agricultural sector and a point of contact between students and the professional world.
This unifying event also represents a window to raise awareness of the agricultural sector and its importance for the country’s economy.
On this occasion, the Minister of Agriculture, Maritime Fisheries, Rural Development and Water and Forests, Mohammed Sadiki, highlighted the major role played by IAV Hassan II in the training of engineers and experts in the agricultural field.
In this regard, he said that this Fair contributes, along with other higher education and vocational training establishments, to achieving the objective of training 150,000 young people in the agricultural sector by 2030 as part of the implementation of the Generation Green strategy.
IAV graduates and students must be included in public actions in favor of climate resilience and the implementation of the recommendations of the Generation Green 2020-2030 agricultural strategy, particularly in terms of water saving, the minister explained in his opening remarks, noting that encouraging local research and innovation systems are very important for food sovereignty, and strengthening the resilience of the agricultural sector.
Referring to the Kingdom’s food sovereignty, Mr. Sadiki recalled that the Green Morocco Plan (PMV) made it possible to define long-term agricultural policies, to develop major investment programs, and to tackle the issue of increasing production and farmers’ equipment.
The PMV, he continued, has marked out the road to agro-industrial transformation according to a value chain that follows the product from the producer to the consumer, noting that there are, however, several sectors that require more support.
In this context, he stressed that his Department has put in place a battery of technical and financial tools to attract investors and promote the transformation of value chains, enhance the activity of cooperatives, make local products more profitable and encourage female entrepreneurship.
Focusing on the modernization of agriculture, the minister emphasized the importance of marketing agricultural products, which requires know-how to better organize the distribution channel, as well as the issue of modernization and aggregation of slaughterhouses, announcing that Morocco plans to accredit 120 slaughterhouses by 2030.
For his part, the director of IAV Hassan II, Abdelaziz El Hraiki, indicated that this Exhibition offers an opportunity to enrich the exchange between the actors involved in the agricultural sector and bring together skills in order to develop constructive recommendations.
In this sense, he stressed the need to promote this collaboration between public authorities and the academic world in order to stimulate the progress of our agriculture, through a targeted collective approach to provide solutions to the challenges currently affecting the sector at a global level, in particular the major transformations implied by technological progress and the repercussions of climate change.
The emergence and progress of Moroccan agriculture requires research and innovation, a lever for the economic integration of young people and an efficient means for their involvement in public action, Mr. El Hraiki said.
The IAV fully adheres to the vision of the Generation Green strategy through its various training courses which aim to support the implementation of the various mechanisms of this roadmap, including the fight against drought, the inclusion of women in the agricultural sector and digitalization, he said, adding that the initiative and mobilization of students is the best way to include young people in national agricultural development strategies and fisheries sectors.
In addition to the stands and exhibitions, hosted by engineering students from different training courses, the program for this edition includes several conferences organized by experts, around various themes, related to food security and sovereignty, water resource governance, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), innovation and the challenges of climate change.
Since its creation, the Hassan II Agronomic and Veterinary Institute has trained several generations of executives and managers in the agricultural sector in Morocco. Considered a true interdisciplinary hub of national and international renown, the IAV Hassan II offers high-quality training in several flagship sectors, serving the agricultural development of the Kingdom.
2024-07-16 13:12:09