FAO/GIEWS - Foodcrops & Shortages 04/00 - MOROCCO (5 April)
Severe drought conditions over most of the country for the past three months have seriously affected the winter crops, due for harvest from May onwards. While the season started with widespread rains in November and December, a prolonged drought since mid-January and a heat wave in February have exhausted soil moisture, causing serious crop stress and damage to large areas of wheat and barley. Satellite images indicate that conditions may be worse than last year when production was seriously reduced by drought. Except in the higher elevations and the Atlantic coastline which received some light rains in March, dry conditions continue to prevail across the country and most regions have generally received less than 100 mm of rain since mid-January. If rains are not received in the next few weeks, several producing areas could face a complete crop failure, while it may already be too late for some crops which have reached the maturity stage.
Initial indications are that this year's cereal harvest could be below the 1999 cereal crop estimated at 3.8 million tonnes, which was 42 percent below the previous year's level, also due to unfavourable weather. As a result, cereal imports in the 1999/2000 marketing year (July/June) are currently estimated at about 4.4 million tonnes, up 25 percent on the previous year. A second consecutive reduced harvest will result in increased grain imports in the 2000/01 marketing year. The subsequent increase in cereal import bill will exert further pressure on scarce foreign reserves.
The Government is preparing contingency measures, including tighter management of available water in dams for humans, livestock and crops, and emergency measures to assist farmers, many of whom were victims of last year�s drought.
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