Aquaculture, which weighs heavily in the blue economy, is a priority for the supervisory department. This is an essential component of food sovereignty, hence the hard work that ANDA is carrying out to stimulate the entrepreneurial fabric in the sector. The projects initiated seem to be developing under the best auspices.
Rich in resources, the aquaculture sector promises promising achievements. Proof of this is the number of projects implemented through the National Aquaculture Development Agency (ANDA), whose achievements were presented by Mohammed Sadiki, Minister of Agriculture and Maritime Fisheries during the of the 19th session of the ANDA Board of Directors.
Projects in perspective
In terms of projects, the agency provided support for the installation of 290 aquaculture projects for the year 2021, of which 233 are located in the Dakhla-Oued Eddahab Region. These authorized projects will allow the creation of nearly 4,365 direct jobs with an overall investment amount of around 6.82 billion dirhams. According to the supervising minister, these new investments will contribute to diversifying the supply of seafood products with an additional volume, in the long term, of 199,000 tonnes.
In addition, given the potential of the national coasts, ANDA had launched, in 2021, a call for expressions of interest in five regions in order to stimulate the momentum of investments. These are Dakhla-Oued Eddahab, Guelmim-Oued Noun, Souss-Massa, Tangier-Tetouan-Al Hoceima and Oriental, with a global offer of 300 plots at sea for a total area of 6,000 ha. The new projects, selected at the end of this process, will strengthen the portfolio of aquaculture projects and consolidate the rank of this sector in the national economy.
In the same perspective, a new aquaculture offer of 3,985 ha, spread over 197 plots, was opened up for investment last April. It concerns the Regions of Casablanca Settat, Marrakech Safi, Guelmim-Oued Noun and Laâyoune-Sakia El Hamra, which have recently adopted regional aquaculture development plans.
For an inclusion entrepreneurial
ANDA has not rested on its laurels either. In fact, in June it launched two calls for expressions of interest (expiring next November) for the development of seaweed farming in the Marchica lagoon.
In detail, the first AMI, which is addressed to national and international investors, concerns 24 plots of 16 ha each. The second is intended for young project leaders from the Oriental Region and fishermen’s cooperatives operating in the same lagoon. It covers 5 plots of 16 ha each.
As for the sectoral support program, the agency announced that 114 projects received financial support of 129 million dirhams. Funding that was used to acquire equipment and facilities for aquaculture farms for women, young people and fishermen to facilitate their inclusion in the entrepreneurial fabric. Still in terms of implementation, the Agency has begun designing two financial support programs with two donors. These are the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) and the World Bank for respective amounts of 20 and 10 M€. These programs are intended to boost the competitiveness of the aquaculture sector by supporting investment projects throughout the value chain.
To this end, in addition to the farms already set up for educational purposes, a program to set up an aquaculture demonstration/training station is being launched in Sidi Ifni, as part of the cooperation between the Department of Sea fishing, ANDA and FAO. Funding ($2.5 million) is provided jointly by the Embassies of Norway and the Netherlands. These pilot facilities are expected to serve as incubation structures for startups in the sector.
Among the points of debate are the structuring levers for the development of the aquaculture sector, in harmony with Morocco’s strategy which places aquaculture as a major component of the blue economy, and dedicated to fully playing its role in the sovereignty country food. The implementation of the legal and regulatory framework, the laws of which were unanimously adopted by the First Chamber of Parliament, will make it possible to put in place the milestones for a structured development of the sector in all its components. The deployment of a dedicated training program is made a priority in order to provide this new sector with qualified human skills throughout the value chain.
Maryam Ouazani / ECO Inspirations
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