فاس نيوز ميديا جريدة الكترونية جهوية تعنى بشؤون و أخبار جهة فاس مكناس – متجددة على مدار الساعة
The Sidi Daoud region, Moulay Yacoub region, witnessed on Wednesday large protests organized by a number of farmers against a sudden decision by local authorities to ban the cultivation of “dallahs”, a decision that the protesters described as threatening the livelihoods of hundreds of families in the region.
According to local sources, the farmers expressed their dissatisfaction with this decision, which came without prior notice, stressing that its immediate implementation will lead to heavy losses, especially since they had purchased seeds and planting supplies based on contractual obligations with agricultural marketing companies, and the protesters warned that the decision may lead to serious social repercussions, including the possibility of prosecuting some farmers for their inability to pay their debts.
The protesters called on the authorities to find alternative solutions, by allowing an exceptional season for the cultivation of “dallah” this year, with the possibility of activating the decision starting from the next season, to avoid economic damage to the agricultural sector in the region.
The protests come after similar incidents in Beni Ystos in Taounat, where farmers organized a protest march to the headquarters of the Fes-Meknes governorate, demanding a reconsideration of the sudden decision.
For their part, local authorities justified the decision by exacerbating the water scarcity crisis, as the region’s water supply is suffering from a sharp decline, especially since dallah cultivation is known for its high water consumption. In conjunction with these protests, public forces launched campaigns to prevent watering dallah lands using pumps to bring water from the Sibou Valley, one of the largest valleys in the region.
The controversy comes amid growing concerns about the impact of the water crisis on Morocco’s agricultural activity, which poses great challenges for farmers and authorities to find balanced solutions that ensure the sustainability of natural resources without harming the agricultural sector.
Source : Fes News Media
