A new event is added to the calendar of agricultural events in Morocco. The province is preparing to host the National Festival of Small Red Fruits.
Scheduled for March 16 to 19, this event will discuss the promotion of small red fruits as a lever for agricultural development. “The organization of this festival is part of the implementation of the objectives of the Green Morocco Plan in terms of the development of high value-added agricultural sectors, in this case the small red fruit sector”, we learn from the organizers. Asked about the choice of Larache, the organizers indicated that it is a province which is part of the largest production area for small red fruits in the Loukkos area.
The first edition of the National Festival of Small Red Fruits thus creates a space for promotion and investment in this sector. The organizers also set themselves the objectives of exchanging experiences between different operators as well as developing partnerships between Moroccan and foreign intermediate producers, suppliers and exporters. The first edition of the festival will present to a wide audience the different products in the sector and new techniques aimed at improving the productivity and quality of fresh and processed small red fruits. This event will also make it possible to identify areas of intervention to strengthen the development of the sector by exploiting large existing potentialities.
The festival will cover an area of 6,000 square meters, including 4,650 square meters covered. It will include two centers, one reserved, among others, for producers and agro-industrial companies and the other reserved for suppliers of agricultural inputs and equipment, logistics companies and conference rooms. Note that the area of small red fruits in the province of Larache is estimated at 4,000 hectares including 2,800 hectares of strawberries, 800 hectares of blueberries and 400 hectares of raspberries. The total production of small red fruits in the region is around 130,000 tonnes annually, or 80% of national production. Likewise, the exported volume represents 75% of the total production of strawberries, 90% of raspberries and 95% of blueberries. These volumes are intended for diversified markets, namely 16 countries in the European Union and the Gulf countries, Australia and Latin America.
The sector also plays an undeniable socio-economic role. It generates an annual turnover estimated at 1.5 million dirhams and also creates 4 million working days.
source: Today Morocco
