Drought-tolerant cereal seeds, an option for the future in Morocco
“Look at these beautiful ears of wheat,” says Ethiopian scientist Wuletaw Tadesse Degu proudly, as he inspects a field near Rabat sown with drought-tolerant seeds, which are at risk from climate change like Morocco. These have become “essential” for the country.
The small rural town of Marchouch, located 70 kilometers south-east of the capital, has housed, since 2013, a major experimental station of the International Center for Agricultural Research in Dry Areas (ICARDA), on an area of 120 hectares, which develops varieties specifically for agricultural purposes. Cereals resilient to climate-related threats.
Its wheat and barley fields, green and full of ears of grain, contrast with the dire situation in the country where the agricultural season is hit by drought for the sixth consecutive year.
According to the Moroccan Central Bank, the area sown to cereals has declined from 3.7 million hectares in 2023 to 2.5 million hectares planned for 2024 due to low rainfall.
According to the same source, grain production this year should be halved to 25 million quintals in 2023 compared to 55.1 million, pushing the country toward greater imports.
“The difference in quality between our land and other farmers’ land is striking. It becomes essential to adopt flexible seeds and deploy them quickly,” Mr Tadesse, head of the improvement programme, tells AFP soft wheat at Icarda. Laboratories and a gene bank in Rabat.
– Possibility –
According to the Ethiopian expert, the potential of these varieties also lies in improving yield: in 2023, grain productivity in Morocco was on average one to two tons per hectare.
In Marchouch, it was four tonnes per hectare with only 200 millimeters of rain – half of what would normally occur in the region – thanks to drought-resistant varieties, but also to optimal agricultural management: the choice of the appropriate time for sowing. , Appropriate quantity and exceptional use of irrigation (10 mm of water on a portion of 120 hectares).
According to Miguel Sánchez García, barley improvement specialist at Icarda, barley production has increased from 1.5 tonnes to two tonnes per hectare with resilient varieties in severe climate conditions.
Immense potential that arouses interest around the world.
For wheat alone, more than 300 promising lines, developed primarily from wild wheat seeds and wheat progenitors through crossing and gene transfer, are sent each year to 90 national diversity building programs around the world, genetic Resources researcher Ahmed Amri says in Icarda.
This agricultural research center is present in 17 countries in Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia.
These promising lines are tested locally, over at least three years, and the most efficient are placed on the market. Over the past ten years, more than 70 wheat varieties originating from ICARDA research have been registered in many countries.
– “System slow” –
Last year, the state approved six new varieties of wheat and barley, but they have not yet reached farmers due to the lack of “efficient” seed multiplication and distribution systems, according to Icarda researchers.
Once the seeds are approved, they are put into competition for the right to breed and once a company has secured the rights, the process takes five years.
Moha Farahi, head of the reform department of the National Agricultural Research Institute, believes, “There is a slackness in the seed certification system which needs to be reviewed immediately.”
Moroccan officials also lament the lack of private sector participation who “prefer to buy foreign seeds to get a faster return on investment when these seeds are not adapted to Moroccan climatic conditions”.
A significant reduction for a kingdom plagued by frequent droughts, where a Moroccan eats an average of 200 kilograms of wheat per year, or three times more than the world average, according to official figures.
“Unlike countries like Egypt or Ethiopia, Morocco has chosen market liberalization,” says Mr. Amri, assuring that these shortcomings are compensated by the national agricultural program “Green Generation 2020-2030” with the adoption of new resilient varieties. Will go. ,
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