Nowadays, and in the face of climate change and the scarcity of rainfall, it has become necessary to look into territorial models of agro-ecological transition that can scale up varied and complementary adaptation measures.
And it is in this spirit that Al Moutmir launched its direct seeding offer in October 2019, in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture, Maritime Fisheries, Rural Development and Water and Forests (MAPMDREF) and with the support of the National Institute for Agronomic Research (INRA) and the Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P).
An initiative that comes within the framework of the efforts made by OCP and UM6P to contribute to the promotion of measures to adapt Moroccan agriculture to climate change through resilient agricultural development.
Under the 2022-2023 agricultural campaign, in collaboration with MAPMDREF and institutional partners and in particular the Regional Directorates of Agriculture, INRA, ONCA, “UM6P-Al Moutmir” is strengthening its offer and expanding the geographic scope of the direct seeding program through the deployment of seed drills and their availability to professional agricultural organizations in more than 23 provinces.
Indeed, the objectives of the 2022-2023 direct seeding campaign consist in targeting more than 25,000 ha in direct seeding, carrying out some 3,000 soil analyzes, for the benefit of 5,000 beneficiary farmers, while expanding its geographical scope to reach 125 localities covered. in 23 provinces, in addition to 45 seeders made available to professional organizations in addition to a training program dedicated to more than 50 professional organizations.
Also, the farmers supported under the Al Moutmir initiative will benefit, in addition to seed drills, from close monitoring by the Al Moutmir teams. A team of agricultural engineers equipped with pedological and agronomic knowledge, advanced technical means and digital platforms to streamline the management of information in real time and thus enrich the Moroccan soil repository. This mobilization as close as possible to farmers plays an essential role in the appropriation and adoption by farmers of this sustainable system.
It is also a question of strengthening the capacities of partner professional organisations. Indeed, the beneficiary farmers and their leading professional organizations will be monitored and supervised by a team of experienced agricultural engineers, through regular visits, targeted and adapted training.
Schools in the fields are also run to enable them to adopt the system and practice it within the framework of a reasoned and adapted technical itinerary and resilient production systems.
To this end, a training program on the choice of varieties in cereal growing and the adjustment of seed drills is being carried out in collaboration with the National Office for Agricultural Advice and the National Institute for Agronomic Research. The program is established in different provinces including Sidi Bennour, Safi, Benguerir, Settat, Berchid, El Jadida, Benslimane, Khémisset, Meknes, Sidi Kacem, Taounate and Taza.
In addition, those eligible for the Al Moutmir direct seeding program will benefit from the soil analyzes and recommendations necessary for the rational fertilization of their plots.
The initiative has thus set up a system for monitoring the evolution of the level of organic matter in the soil of plots conducted in direct seeding. The purpose of this device is to evaluate the effect of the adoption of direct seeding on the physico-chemical characteristics of the soil.
Also more than 1,030 direct seeding demonstration platforms will be installed and monitored in collaboration with the various partners. These demonstration platforms, installed according to an integrated cultivation program (ICP) and a reasoned scientific protocol established with UM6P experts, have a dual objective, in particular the dissemination and sharing of good agricultural practices with farmers, in particular rational fertilization and integrated control of weeds, diseases and pests.
The aim is to encourage the practice of agriculture based on scientific foundations, a more resilient and sustainable agriculture that makes it possible to cope with the vagaries of the climate while preserving resources, improving and stabilizing productivity.
In addition, and in order to diversify the target crops and to encourage farmers to adopt crop rotation, the program targets this year, in addition to cereals and legumes, crops with high potential such as oilseeds, particularly in favorable areas and fodder crops in livestock farming areas.