2023-05-03 06:37:45
Initialed by the Minister of Agriculture, Maritime Fisheries, Rural Development and Water and Forests, Mohamed Sadiki, and his British counterpart, Lord Richard Benyon, at the end of the Forum on Morocco-United Kingdom cooperation, held on the sidelines of the opening of the 15th edition of the International Agricultural Show in Morocco (SIAM), this MoU declares the common will to cooperate around scientific research, resilience to climate change, capacity building and agricultural innovation.
Speaking at this Forum, Sadiki praised the achievements in bilateral cooperation in the marketing of agricultural products between Morocco and the United Kingdom, expressing the common will of both parties, through the signing of this MoU , to strengthen their technical and agricultural cooperation.
For his part, Benyon noted that the signing of this MoU will strengthen the ties between the two countries and help them accelerate progress towards their common goal of achieving sustainable and climate-resilient agriculture.
The UK’s agricultural sector accounts for 0.7% of the country’s GDP, meeting around 60% of its own food demand. In addition, 70% of the total area of the country is used agricultural area with the main crops being potatoes, beets, wheat and barley.
The United Kingdom is positioned as the 4th international importer of Moroccan agricultural and maritime food products. The value of Moroccan agro-food exports to the United Kingdom reached nearly 5.94 billion dirhams in 2022, representing a growth of 57% compared to the year 2021 and a growth of 635% compared to 2010. In 2022, agro-food exports represented a share in value of 36%, and a share in volume of 73% compared to Morocco’s total exports to this market.
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