European Commission supports Morocco’s ecological & inclusive agriculture with €115 Mln
The European Commission adopted on Tuesday a new program worth €115 million to support Morocco’s ecological, inclusive and innovative farming.
Dubbed “Terre Verte”, the program aims to contribute to Morocco’s strategies “Green Generation” and “Moroccan Forests” covering the period 2020-2030 by promoting an ecological transition conducive to the creation of decent work opportunities in Morocco in the agricultural and forestry sector.
European Commission Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans said: “The Green Partnership between Morocco and the EU is the first of its kind and an important recognition of Morocco’s leadership and potential in the green transition”.
The support to Moroccan agriculture and forestry provided through this program shows that the EU is on Morocco’s side in the fight against the climate and biodiversity crises, he added.
European Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement Olivér Várhelyi, said: “Morocco has just experienced the worst drought in 40 years, threatening water and agricultural systems. In addition, the war in Ukraine is exacerbating tensions in the food markets, including in the EU’s Southern Neighborhood region”.
“We stand with Morocco to address this challenging situation with this €115 million program under the EU’s Economic and Investment Plan for the Southern Neighborhood”, he stressed, noting that the EU supports Morocco’s development of sustainable agriculture practices and sustainable management of forest resources.
The program seeks to support sustainable agricultural value chains, ensure a better protection and management of forestry, and encourage job creation and social inclusion across the two sectors.
The program “Terre Verte” is funded under the Neighborhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument, NDICI-Global Europe.
The €115 million includes the allocation of €15 million from the ‘Food and Resilience Facility’, which will support, in particular, priority response measures to optimize national agricultural production as well as support for producers for the development of more sustainable agricultural practices.
