Dr. Ali Lansari

Fruit tree Consultant

XVI GREMPA MEETING 12-14 MAI 2015, MEKNES MOROCCO

Répartition of almonds in Morocco

History: Introduced by Arabs (7th century) through Sijilmassa Spanish (12th century) through mediterranean sea

Statistics (source MAPM 2013 & FAO 2012) : Acreage : >153 000 ha Production : 80 000mT inshell 16 000 mT kernels Average yield inshell : 0,53 mT/ha Rank: 6th (5% of almond world production) aftter USA, Syria, Iran, Spain & Italy

APA (amélioration de la production de l’amandier) in and DRS (defense & restoration of soils) (DERRO project), Plan National de Développement Agricole, FDA (Fond de développement Agricole), PMV (plan Maroc Vert)

Increase from 35 000 ha to 152 000 ha in 56 years (4.5 fold increase).

Between 2008 & 2013 :Increase of the acreage by 13% and production by

Seedling populations (50%)

DRS plantings 15%

Modern orchards (25%) PMV rainfed plantings(10%)

No cultivars, coancestries Irregular planting Early flowering Weak pollination Low yield potential Poor soil quality Rainfed No orchard management Disease problems

Marcona, Fournat & Nec Plus Grafted on bitter almond or Marcona seedlings Seedlings rise due to Rootstock over growth No orchard management Pest and frost problems

-Selected varieties (Marcona, Fournat, ferragnès, ferraduel Tuono, Laurane…) -Drip irrigation when used -Mechanized orchard management

Inapropriate density plantings Lacks in orchard management (pest control, water and fertilizers monitoring, bee pollination,…

Fully funded by the governement Planting along contour lines Choice of high standards for nursery plants Use of Ferragnès & ferraduel late blooming Planting and tree maintenance for 2 years by hired private compagnies

But: Few chances that Farmers will mantain trees

Double the actual acreage to overcome the seedling acreage

Chose better soil quality for planting

Encourage drip irrigation where possible

Work on kernel quality

Optimize orchard management

Develop packaging and processing industry

Develop marketing strategies to overstep importations to make the market prices more profitable to the small almond grower

Encourage Moroccan almond trade association