Morocco’s 2022 cereals harvest down by 67%, as impact of drought pile up

The record-breaking drought recorded this year has lowered Morocco’s cereals production to 67% compared to the previous campaign, with the current yield standing at a slim 34 million quintals.

Figures shared by Morocco’s Agriculture ministry on Monday showed an 18.9 million quintals production of soft wheat during the 2021/22 agricultural campaign. Durum wheat production stood at 8.1 million quintals and barely at 7 million quintals.

Crop area this year covered s 3.6 million hectares against 4.35 million hectares during the previous campaign, says the ministry.

The Fez-Meknes and Rabat-Sale-Kenitra generated 58% of cereal production this year, while irrigated cereals contributed only 20.7% of total production.

“This is due to the decline in the irrigated area of ​​cereals and irrigation restrictions in the perimeters of large hydraulics”, explains the ministry of agriculture in a press release.

Rainfall recorded at the end of May 2022 reached 199 mm dropping by 44% compared to the 30-year average (355 mm) and a drop of 34% compared to the previous campaign (303 mm).

Nearly a third of the rainfall occurred during November and December and 53% of the cumulative rainfall occurred during March and April.

The very low rainfall or even its absence in several regions of the Kingdom during the months of January and February caused a delay in the growth of cereals.

Agricultural value added should register a drop of 14%, which would result in a 1.8 drop in GDP, said the ministry.

Tags: drought, crop, yield, Morocco, durum wheat, Cereals, soft wheat, Production