The Minister of Agriculture, Maritime Fisheries, Rural Development, and Water and Forests, Ahmed El Bouari, highlighted on Saturday in Kampala Morocco’s efforts to develop sustainable and resilient agriculture.
“The Kingdom of Morocco, under the leadership of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may God assist Him, reaffirms its commitment to increasing and accelerating investments in the resilience of the food system, particularly in the agricultural sector,” emphasized Mr. El Bouari, who spoke during the proceedings of the Summit of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP), held from January 9 to 11 in the Ugandan capital.
In perfect alignment with the objectives of sustainable agricultural development in Africa, Morocco has deployed the Generation Green 2020-2030 strategy related to agricultural development, which builds on the positive achievements of the Green Morocco Plan 2008-2020, the minister noted, leading a significant Moroccan delegation to this major event.
More than 10% of the national public investment budget is allocated to agriculture, in addition to $16 billion in investments aimed at water management by 2027, he indicated.
In the same vein, Mr. El Bouari highlighted the generalization of social protection to all farmers, noting that this initiative reflects the centrality of human capital in Morocco’s sustainable development policy.
The efforts made by Morocco have been recognized at the continental level during the biennial reviews of the Malabo Declaration action plan, he recalled, noting that these biennials have placed the Kingdom at the forefront in North Africa and in second place at the continental level.
“We are also guided by the Royal Vision, which is based on trust in South-South cooperation, a solidarity-based and sustainable cooperation whose successes attest to the relevance of this choice in contributing to achieving the objectives of the CAADP,” added the government official, reaffirming Morocco’s firm commitment to achieving the objectives of the CAADP 2026-2035 for a prosperous, resilient, and united Africa.
Furthermore, Mr. El Bouari emphasized that the Kampala summit comes at a time when African economies are still suffering from the consequences of successive crises since 2020, which have affected the agri-food sector.
Calling for action to address current and future challenges related to food security, the minister lamented that Africa imports about $80 billion annually in food products, despite having significant natural and human resources capable of becoming a major player in global food production.
“The resilience of Africa also depends on the development of intra-African trade, which is a lever for the economic integration of our continent,” he continued, noting that the African Continental Free Trade Area represents a real opportunity in this regard.
The proceedings of the CAADP Summit opened on Thursday with the participation of a significant Moroccan delegation led by Mr. Ahmed El Bouari, which included the Secretary General of the Agriculture Department, Redouane Arrach, the interim Director of Irrigation and Agricultural Space Development within this department, Zakaria El Yacoubi, and the Ambassador of Morocco to the United Republic of Tanzania and the Union of the Comoros, Zakaria El Goumiri.
More than 2,000 participants, including heads of state, government officials, representatives from the private sector and civil society, as well as experts and scientists, are taking part in this summit organized by the African Union Commission.
During this event, themed “One Voice, One Land,” participants focused on the development and adoption of the CAADP Action Plan (2026-2035) and the Kampala Declaration.