The Minister of Agriculture, Maritime Fisheries, Rural Development and Water and Forests, Mohamed Sadiki, on Tuesday made a field visit to the province of Larache and the perimeter of Loukkos, during which he proceeded to the launch of the construction works of the Qualipole of Loukkos and to the visit of several projects of agricultural and rural development.
At the level of the Zouada territorial commune, Mr. Sadiki, who was accompanied by the Wali of the Tangier-Tetouan region Al Hoceima, the governor of the province of Larache, the president of the region, the president of the Regional Chamber of Agriculture, professionals from the sector and elected officials, as well as a large delegation of ministry officials, presided over the launch of construction work on this Qualipole, installed over an area of 2 ha at a total cost of 97.80 million dirhams (MDH).
The aim of the “Qualipole food” is to provide local support to producers to improve the quality of their products and provide analysis and control services to access markets under the best conditions.
It will house the laboratories of the National Food Safety Office (ONSSA), the National Institute for Agronomic Research (INRA) and Morocco Foodexv, as well as the Regional Center for Young Agricultural Entrepreneurs (CRJEA) and common areas.
In a statement to the press, Mr. Sadiki underlined that the construction work of the Qualipôle Alimentation has been launched within the Agropole du Loukkos, which will bring together all the services of the Ministry of Agriculture, in order to bring services closer to investors and create a “cluster” capable of ensuring the federation of the efforts of all stakeholders, with a view to increasing the rate of development of agricultural products.
The Minister affirmed that the Loukkos Agropole is a structuring project for the production sectors, and aims to increase the rate of valorization of agricultural products from 35% to around 80%, noting that this will make it possible to “structure the production sectors and to maintain added value at the regional level, in order to contribute to local economic and social development and job creation”.
He recalled that the Agropole du Loukkos project covers an area of 150 hectares, of which the first tranche covers 50 ha, noting that the plots of land in this tranche have almost all been sold to investors who want to install in the Agropole.
For his part, the chairman of the executive board of MedZ, a subsidiary of the Caisse de depot et de gestion (CDG), Mohssine Semmar, affirmed that the construction of the Agropole du Loukkos is taking place in accordance with the conditions of international competitiveness, noting that the work has reached an advanced stage and delivery of the first phase, covering an area of 50 ha, is scheduled for next July.
Mr. Semmar underlined that investment projects within the Agropole are being studied, with a view to enabling investors to launch technical studies and begin the installation of their units, after the delivery of the first tranche, noting that about 30 investors have expressed their interest in settling in this tranche, which should generate an overall investment of nearly 1.15 billion dirhams (MMDH) and create more than 3,800 jobs.
He said that the Loukkos Agropole, which is the result of the partnership between ministerial sectors, the regional council, Crédit Agricole Maroc (CAM) and the company MedZ, represents “a structuring project for the province and the region, which will contribute to promoting the economic and social dynamics and to strengthening the influence of the region”.
It should be noted that the Agropole is made up of four spaces, namely “Food Industries Space” dedicated to industrial activities, related industries, transport, storage and showrooms, the “Technological Pole” composed of a entrepreneurship, training institutes and an innovation center, the “Services Pole” comprising service and operating facilities and the “Qualipole food”.
The Loukkos Agropole will improve the development and processing of agricultural products from the region. It offers real added value for the region, with a turnover of nearly 4 billion dirhams per year and constitutes an important lever for employment through the creation of more than 12,000 jobs.
At the level of the perimeter of Loukoss, the visit concerned fields of production and harvesting of potatoes serving the supply of the local market.
The Loukkos perimeter has significant potential in terms of irrigated agricultural land with an area that exceeds 45,000 ha, in addition to significant water resources and modern hydro-agricultural equipment. Loukkos is also characterized by favorable climatic conditions for the development of different crops, including market gardening, red fruits, fodder crops and fruit trees.
Market gardening represents an important part of the annual cropping programme. The scheduled area for fall and winter market gardening amounts to approximately 16,000 ha.
With regard to the achievements of the different species, they experienced a significant change compared to previous campaigns, with an achievement rate of 114% over an area of 18,170 ha.
Potatoes represent 50% of the total area dedicated to market gardening, including 36% reserved for seasonal potatoes with an area of more than 6,500 ha and a forecast production of more than 286,000 tonnes.
It should be noted that the potato harvesting operation began during the third week of March and is spread over the following three months with a harvest peak during the month of April.
As regards the spring market gardening programme, it will occupy an area of 7,900 ha, entirely irrigated with a forecast production of more than 300,000 T, while the National Irrigation Water Saving Programme, which aims to purpose the collective conversion into a localized irrigation system at Loukkos, is carried out in two stages over an area of 23,000 ha.