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According to a report by AFP on the 11th, Morocco, located in Africa, has continued to suffer from drought in recent years, and agricultural production has been severely impacted. In desperation, some farmers have reduced the area under cultivation of various food crops, such as wheat.
Every year at this time of year, in the Moroccan agricultural province of Barehid, 54-year-old farmer Abdelrahim prepares for the spring wheat harvest. But this year, the situation is not encouraging. The six-year drought has left his family's 20 hectares of land barren, and the yield of many crops such as wheat has dropped significantly.
Abdelrahim, farmer, Barehid province, Morocco: We used to grow almost everything, lentils, chickpeas, wheat, peas, etc., but now we can't.
According to data released by the Moroccan Ministry of Agriculture, more than 88 percent of agricultural land in Barehid province currently does not receive adequate artificial irrigation and relies on rainfall. However, since the beginning of this year, the rainfall has been only half of that of the same period last year. At the same time, hot weather is frequent. In response to the drought, some farmers have reduced the area under their own acreage for food crops. As of November last year, Morocco had 2.3 million hectares under grain cultivation, compared to the average of between 4 million and 5 million hectares in previous years.
Hamid, farmer, Barehid province, Morocco: There is no water, groundwater is very scarce, and the dam is close to drying up, and we feel that there is nothing we can do about it.
It is understood that agriculture occupies an important place in the national economy of Morocco. Agriculture accounts for about 42 per cent of the country's total labour force, and agricultural exports account for 30 per cent of total export earnings. Some economists worry that if the drought is not effectively alleviated, the country's economy will suffer multiple blows. Many cities in Morocco have recently asked some public baths, car washes and other water-intensive business facilities to suspend operations to save water resources.
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Editor: Zhang Yafang