Hibapress
The Cosumar Group is launching a new sugar campaign with a program covering 45,000 hectares, compared to 23,000 hectares the previous year.
For the current 2024/2025 campaign, Cosumar forecasts a notable increase in areas devoted to sugar beet cultivation, reaching 45,000 hectares, compared to 23,000 hectares the previous year, despite difficult climatic conditions which persist in certain sugar areas, indicates the group in a press release.
These areas are divided into 10,000 hectares in Doukkala, 10,000 hectares in Tadla, 6,000 hectares in Oriental, 13,000 hectares in Gharb, and 6,000 hectares in Loukkos, specifies the press release, noting that for the cultivation of sugar cane, the Group plans to exploit 5,000 hectares in the Gharb and Loukkos regions.
For this campaign, although the scarcity of rainfall persists in certain regions, the government’s efforts to ensure access to irrigation water make it possible to envisage more favorable growing conditions.
The previous campaign, 2023/2024, had also faced similar challenges, recalls the group, adding that thanks to the resilience and commitment of stakeholders in the sugar sector, Cosumar and its farmer partners managed to obtain yields satisfactory.
This performance resulted in a significant increase in farmers’ income thanks to the Group’s support and the significant financial support put in place by the State, adds the same source. These ambitious objectives aim to strengthen national sugar production and the country’s food sovereignty based on the availability of irrigation water.
According to the same source, the Head of Government responded favorably to the grievances of agricultural inter-professions during the meeting on October 10 with Comader and the Agricultural Inter-professions to respond to the concerns of farmers and professionals in the agricultural sector.
It was agreed that water releases from dams be authorized throughout the agricultural year in the areas of Gharb, Moulouya and Loukkos, as well as an allocation for the start of the campaign at Tadla, specifies the press release.
Seawater desalination projects undertaken by the State, commissioned or currently underway, will help preserve water resources. The transfer of water from the Sebou basin to that of Bouregreg, carried out at the end of 2023, will also strengthen this resource management.
These infrastructures are crucial for agriculture, particularly in the Tadla and Doukkala areas. They will make it possible to maintain and develop areas dedicated to sugar crops, in accordance with the objectives of the 2021-2030 program contract signed between the State and the Moroccan Interprofessional Sugar Federation (FIMASUCRE).
Cosumar, as an aggregator, has secured a supply of seeds, fertilizers and phytosanitary products for an amount exceeding 500 million dirhams. Financial support from the government on fertilizer prices allows farmers to significantly reduce their costs. The Group and the sector are convinced that the financial support granted by the State to support the price of sugar plants for farmers (80 DH per tonne for beet and 70 DH for sugar cane) will play a key role in significant reduction in their burdens.
This aid will not only allow them to better absorb production costs, but also to benefit from an increase in their income, thus strengthening the profitability and competitiveness of the sugar sector for an increased contribution to the country’s food sovereignty, while contributing to the development of agricultural regions.
Through the continuous improvement of competitiveness and profitability of crops, Cosumar affirms that it will continue to sustainably support the income of partner farmers.
