Speaking at the ministerial meeting on efforts to combat the weevil, held on the occasion of the ministerial conference of date producing and processing countries, Mr. Sadiki stressed that the urgent implementation of this national strategy has made it possible to contain this pest insect in its place of appearance and to establish a binding legal framework for the fight which reinforces a set of urgent and obligatory measures for all stakeholders, in particular the ban on transplanting green plants in safe areas in and outside the oases.
Morocco has consolidated the national system for detecting this insect in all regions of the country, for an annual budget of 800,000 dollars, he added.
In addition to these measures, Mr. Sadiki continued, the ministry carries out inspections and a thorough examination of palm trees suspected of being infected and deploys a net to capture the insect using pheromones and kairomones (mass trapping). ) in the infested area, in addition to preventive and curative chemical treatment operations, as well as the felling and incineration of contaminated palm trees.
In addition to the strategy currently being implemented to eliminate this pest insect, Morocco also intends to develop other proactive measures to prevent the entry of the red weevil into all date palm areas in the southern oases, currently free from contamination.
This strengthening concerns in particular the launch of a national research and development program against this pest, led by the National Institute of Agronomic Research, which aims to identify and design new measures, innovative monitoring techniques, sustainable protection methods and new technologies.
Mr. Sadiki, in this context, underlined that after the success of the planting program of 3 million date palms launched by His Majesty King Mohammed VI in 2009 in Errachidia, a new program contract linked to the date palm sector date palm was concluded between the State and professionals with a view to implementing the Generation Green strategy for the period 2021-2030 at the level of the four oasis regions (Draa-Tafilalet, Souss-Massa, l’Oriental and Guelmim-Oued Noun) with the aim of developing this sector as part of a sustainability approach to cope with the effects of climate change.
Through the mobilization of nearly 7.5 billion dirhams, noted the minister, the same program contract provides for the planting of five million date palms, in favor of the promotion of entrepreneurship for young people and cooperatives. , improving production, mobilization and logistics, in addition to modernizing internal and external distribution and marketing channels.
Organized by the general secretariat of the Khalifa International Date Palm Prize, in cooperation with the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), this event aims to monitor and the evaluation of the results of the integrated management project for the red palm weevil and the creation of an international body for the sustainable development of oases.
This year’s ministerial conference includes two high-level ministerial meetings, the first of which is dedicated to monitoring and evaluating the results of the integrated management of the red palm weevil project, while the second relates to preparation for the institutionalization of the Sustainable Oasis Initiative.