Morocco to launch €82.6 million project to help vulnerable households face climate change

Morocco, in partnership with the international Fund for Agricultural Development(IFAD),agreed to launch a €82.6 million project to help vulnerable households face climate change.

IFAD is an international financial institution and a United Nations specialized agency based in Rome – the United Nations’ food and agriculture hub.

The project will benefit 11,200 vulnerable households in rural areas through increasing their productivity and adaptation to climate change, IFAD said in a statement after the signing of an agreement in that connection.

Morocco, where agriculture represents 14% of GDP and employs nearly 80% of rural people, is highly vulnerable to climate change impacts, leaving smallholder farmers at risk.

The project will focus on the region of Taza by building the resilience of smallholder farmers in Taza Province, where the agriculture sector is dominated by subsistence farming and the production of rainfed crops.

The Moroccan government will fund the project by up to €43.6 million while IFAD’s financing includes €31.9 million loan and €0.6 million grant. The beneficiaries themselves will make a contribution of €6.5 million.

The project provides also for shielding 33,000 hectares of cultivated land from erosion as well as the promotion of sustainable development of the almond, fig, olive and honey value chains.