One of the largest rivers in Morocco is unable to reach its mouth due to drought
One of the dam workers looks at the receding water with great sadness.
AFP
picture
The waters of the Moulouya River, one of Morocco's largest rivers, have dried up to the point where it is unable to reach its mouth in the Mediterranean Sea, "for the first time in its history," according to environmental expert Mohamed Benatta, threatening agricultural lands and biodiversity in the region.
The reasons for this “tragic phenomenon are due to the decline in the flow of the river, due to the excessive consumption of its water,” as the retired expert explains, while taking pictures of the estuary near the tourist city of Saidia, in the northeast of the Kingdom, near the border with Algeria.
The harshness of the drought upset the balance of nature in this agricultural area, as the salty sea water invaded the course of the river "for 15 kilometers", forcing farmers on its banks to abandon cultivating their lands because of the salinity of the water and its effect on the soil.
In one of those farms on the left bank of the river, the watermelons look pale yellow and distorted in shape with dry stems that “even pigs recovered,” says Ahmed Hadiwi, a farm owner in the area, sighing.
This 46-year-old farmer spent about $33,000 this year on planting his fields, and on two water pumps to irrigate watermelons, “but everything has evaporated due to water scarcity, especially the salinity of the river water.”
Salinity is up to seven grams per liter, while it is assumed that the salinity of fresh water does not exceed 0.5 grams per liter.
Morocco, whose economy is the main sector, has been suffering from successive droughts in recent years, and the matter is expected to worsen by 2050 due to reduced rains (-11%) and high temperatures (+1.3 degrees), according to a report by the Ministry of Agriculture.
Knockdown
Likewise, Hadiwi’s cousin despaired of reaping the fruits of the artichoke, which he planted in a nearby field whose herbs have lost their greenness, and “has not tasted the sweetness of irrigation water for two months because of the scarcity of water, and he avoided using river water whose salinity destroys the soil for years,” says his owner, Mustafa.
Mustafa gave up his teaching profession to work in agriculture, before he was forced today to abandon two-thirds of his 57-hectare farm due to drought.
In addition to the harsh nature of nature, Hadiwi, and most of the area's farmers who spoke to AFP, also point the finger at the "mismanagement" of the river's water, and its over-exploitation through two pumping stations and three dams in the area.
Although the second pumping station did not start operating until six months ago, Hadioui says, "It was a fatal blow to the farmers of the lower Moulouya basin."
Priority is given to benefiting from irrigation water for fruit-bearing farms far from the mouth of the river, which in the opinion of farmer Abdul Rahim Zakhinini (61 years), represents an "unequal division", and he, too, was forced to stop planting his family estate spanning 200 hectares.
However, the regional director of the Ministry of Agriculture, Mohamed Bosfu, explains that giving priority to watering trees “because we live in exceptional circumstances.” Reviving a dead tree is more difficult than replacing a vegetable field.
Follow our latest local and sports news and the latest political and economic developments via Google news