The “cold” wave that struck the Ait Ben Moussa region of the Boulemane region during the past few weeks has spoiled many hectares of crops such as potatoes, carrots, barley and onions in the region. This caused great resentment among the small farmers, who were severely affected by the repercussions of this environmental disaster that befell them.
The affected peasants called on the government to intervene, by allocating material and moral support for them in this ordeal.
The concerned parties stressed, in their communication with Hespress, that “it is the state’s duty to pay attention to them,” considering that “the visit of the region’s commander did not result in any practical measures to support the farmers or mitigate the heavy losses caused by the cold.”
In this regard, Ali Al-Amiri, one of the affected farmers, stated that “the area that was spoiled by the cold wave suggests that, estimatingly, it can be said that the areas adjacent to my village exceed twenty hectares, all of which were damaged, and the numbers of those affected are many,” highlighting that “there are those Peasants have huge debts to sellers of grain and seeds, and this disaster may create obvious problems for them.”
Al-Amiri added, in his statement to Hespress, that he “lost crops of about 3 hectares of potatoes, and about four hectares of barley,” noting that “the government must intervene urgently to save these small farmers, who live from agriculture and who are waiting for crops to revive trade locally in The shadow of the drought experienced by Morocco.
For his part, the farmer, Rashid Al-Saudi, expressed his “dissatisfaction with what happened to him and the rest of the farmers in the region,” recalling that “the local authority moved immediately after the disaster; However, what we understood from what the authority said is that there is no compensation for the fact that these cultivated lands are not preserved in a large part of it, and also due to the lack of insurance and the lack of logistical equipment to deal with the “hail” strikes in the region.
The same affected farmer confirmed, in his statement to Hespress, that he “alone lost a crop of 7 hectares of barley, 3 hectares of carrot cultivation, and one hectare of onions,” noting that “the estimated area that was destroyed exceeds thirty hectares; Because the affected farmers are many.. And if we say that each one of them has three hectares, then the area will be of great harm to the farmers and the sector as a whole in the region.
The same spokesman explained that “what worries young farmers is that the sector has witnessed a deterioration in recent years, and climatic changes confuse farmers,” adding that “the material reasons and administrative complexities impede the issue of thinking about providing devices that allow resistance to the “cold” strikes. Therefore, the government must take all these developments into consideration, so that the small farmer has a place within public discussions to advance his crisis situation.
Commenting on the situation, Hamid Bouhanoun, Vice President of the Chamber of Agriculture of the Fez-Meknes region, said, “The cold storm that hit the region is a real shock to farmers, farmers, and families living in the Strip,” noting that “this blow affected agricultural crops, and contributed to the loss of the crop.” Cereals are affected by about 60 percent, and vegetables and fruit trees are affected by 50 percent.
Bouhanoun added, in his statement to Hespress, that “everyone in the region is waiting for the attention of the higher authorities, including the Ministry of Agriculture and the Presidency of the Government, to intervene and compensate the farmers; Given that these disasters have become seasonal in the region and are repeated every year,” stressing that “the affected farmers must be supported financially and provided with equipment to deal with the cold; This equipment can reduce the severity of the strikes and the extent of their damage, and also think about postponing the loans that they bear or paying them instead, because this season has become without tangible results after this devastation.”
The vice-president of the Chamber of Agriculture of the Fez-Meknes region drew attention to the insurance problem, explaining that insurance institutions still exclude the Pullman region, although many farmers are ready to insure their crops, because they are vulnerable to disasters. Environmental problems are the first to be secured. Given the fragile situation of these peasants, as they have a normal social status.