World Bank loans Morocco 200 mln USD to boost agri-food sector

RABAT, Dec. 21 (Xinhua) -- Morocco and the World Bank signed here on Thursday a 200-million-U.S.-dollar loan agreement to boost Morocco's agri-food sector.

The deal, inked by Mohamed Boussaid, Morocco's minister of Economy and Finance, and Marie Francoise Marie-Nelly, director of the World Bank Operations for the Maghreb and Malta, is meant to accelerate the development of Morocco's agri-business sector and market inclusion of small and medium producers.

It also seeks to move the sector away from fragmented production to more integrated value chains by promoting an enabling environment for agri-food sector growth, remove barriers to the development of targeted value chains and promote agri-business competitiveness.

Boosting agri-food sector is a key part of Morocco's ambitious Green Morocco Plan, which aims to strengthen agriculture.

In a statement, Marie-Nelly said the agreement will help support small farmers and set up "take-off structures" for agri-businesses in Morocco.

"With the sector dominated by small enterprises and cooperatives, the program intends to better include small and medium producers in a demanding and fast growing agri-food market," she said.

For his part, Boussaid welcomed the support of the World Bank for structuring projects implemented by the kingdom. Enditem