The Agricultural Development Agency (ADA) has just obtained its second re-accreditation from the Adaptation Fund (AF), which aims to be a key lever to strengthen Morocco’s climate resilience.
“This act of renewed trust constitutes an effective and solemn recognition of the continuous efforts made by the Department of Agriculture to contribute to the sustainability of the Moroccan agricultural sector and to address the increasingly pressing climate challenges,” states the ADA in a press release.
The AF, established under the Kyoto Protocol of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), finances projects and programs aimed at strengthening the resilience of the most vulnerable communities facing climate disruptions, the same source indicates.
To be eligible for these funds, each entity must demonstrate its ability to manage projects transparently and effectively, ensuring good governance, risk management, and compliance with international environmental and social safeguard standards. This is a challenge met by the ADA, which has justified the merit of this renewal for a second time.
Thanks to this new accreditation, the ADA is now able to mobilize additional funding to collaboratively develop new innovative projects in the fields of climate adaptation with various stakeholders in the agricultural sector as well as with other ministerial departments, the press release specifies.
It also recalls that the ADA’s accreditation in 2012 allowed for the raising of $9.97 million in the form of a grant for the benefit of oasis populations, to finance the Climate Change Adaptation Project in Oasis Areas (PACCZO).
Launched in 2015, the PACCZO has strengthened the resilience of 40,000 beneficiaries, including 50% women and youth, in the Gheris intermediate and Maïder basins. Recognized as a model project at the national level and by the AF, the PACCZO notably enabled the construction of 60 séguias over a length of 21 kilometers, the rehabilitation of 49 khettaras over a length of 8,800 linear meters, the establishment of 7 artificial groundwater recharge structures, as well as the construction of 25 protective walls.
Furthermore, it has supported 45 innovative economic projects in key areas such as agriculture, access to drinking water, the environment, crafts, and tourism.
Moreover, this re-accreditation comes at a crucial time for Morocco, which is increasingly experiencing the effects of water stress and the scarcity of water resources, notes the Agency.
With renewed access to AF funding, the Department of Agriculture has an additional asset to help address these challenges and support small Moroccan farmers towards a more resilient future, concludes the press release.