HIBAPRESS – Abdellatif Baraka
At a time when the severity of crises within the agricultural sector in the Souss-Massa region is escalating, a fundamental question surfaces regarding the usefulness of representative institutions, especially the Regional Chamber of Agriculture, which is supposed to be the voice of farmers and a defender of their interests, not just a platform for exchanging complaints without a tangible effect on the ground.
The communication meeting organized by the head of the Regional Chamber of Agriculture in Oulad Teima, "Youssef Jabeh," immediately after the positive report presented by the Minister of Agriculture to the attention of His Majesty the King at the ministerial meeting last Thursday, which reassured Moroccans that the reality of the agricultural season is good, but the head of the Regional Chamber of Agriculture presented the opposite, that there are major problems experienced by farmers, after he presented, as responsible for an advocacy agricultural chamber, did not go beyond the circle of repeating the same diagnoses that have become known to everyone, the scarcity of the labor force, the rise in production costs, agricultural insurance problems, and the repercussions of climate fluctuations, after his previous statement was problems of water scarcity for irrigation.
But what raised the displeasure of a number of farmers after the meeting was the absence of any practical answers or clear measures that would alleviate the severity of the farmers' crisis after they were lost between planting lemons or prickly pears.
The farmers who attended the meeting were expecting decisions or at least a roadmap, especially in light of the delay in compensation for climate fluctuations that had not reached those affected, which deepened their suffering in a difficult agricultural season, but they found themselves facing a presentation that repeats the problems without providing solutions, in a scene that reflects a growing gap between institutional representation and the expectations of the agricultural base in the most important region that depends on the agricultural economy.
The matter does not stop at the limits of this meeting, but goes beyond it to what professionals consider a disturbing intersection in the orientations between the head of the Regional Chamber and some agricultural decision-making circles, especially at the level of managing the transformations that the sector is experiencing, so the Souss-Massa region, and specifically the Houara area, which until recently was one of the strongholds of citrus production in Morocco, is experiencing a radical transformation in its agricultural pattern.
This transformation, which consists of uprooting vast areas of citrus trees, especially lemons, and replacing them with export-oriented crops inside covered houses, such as mulberries and prickly pears, raises more than one question mark. While some see it as an economic option imposed by market transformations and the scarcity of water resources, others consider it a gradual abandonment of a historical agricultural identity for the region.
It is noteworthy that the head of the Regional Chamber was among the actors who were involved in this orientation, which puts him in a position of double questioning, how can someone who represents the farmers be a party in controversial strategic choices without opening a wide public discussion about its repercussions? And where is the Chamber from accompanying this transformation and framing it in a way that ensures a balance between economic profitability and agricultural sustainability?
In light of these data, it seems that the role of the Regional Chamber of Agriculture in the Souss-Massa region needs a deep re-evaluation, which goes beyond the logic of formal communication meetings towards the development of clear regional policies, based on actual listening, and boldness in proposing alternatives, and the ability to advocate to the central authorities.
The Souss farmer today is not looking for someone to share the diagnosis of the crisis with, but for someone to lead the path out of it, and between this and that, trust in institutions remains at stake, waiting for actions that match the size of the challenges that are sweeping a sector that forms one of the pillars of the regional and national economy.
