Mubasher: The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has announced providing a EUR 120 million loan to Morocco’s Saïss Water Conservation Project.
The loan will be used in the construction of an irrigation infrastructure that is part of a co-financing grant worth EUR 32 million from the Green Climate Fund (GCF), a global initiative that responds to climate change by investing in low-emission and climate-resilient development.
The EBRD’s loan will “help protect the country’s agricultural sector from the impact of climate change,” the bank said in a statement released Thursday.
The North African Arab country suffers from “extreme water scarcity,” heightened by climate change, and the “unsustainable use of groundwater” which has resulted in lower groundwater reserves.
This poses a severe risk and threat to Morocco’s agricultural production and rural livelihoods, the EBRD said, noting that its investment in the water conservation project will improve climate resilience.
The loan will also be utilised to develop “a transformative water transfer scheme that will deliver more than 100 million cubic metres of irrigation water to the Saïss plain each year,” the statement showed.
The water scheme will, therefore, provide a switch from the highly unsustainable groundwater to sustainable surface water resources. It will also bolster access to improved practice and efficient irrigation techniques.
This investment “is very important” for Morocco and will strengthen the country’s infrastructure and ability to secure sustainable water resources, said EBRD director for Morocco Marie-Alexandra Veilleux-Laborie.
“Via this project we will foster greater private sector involvement and we will contribute to the development of Agriculture in the country, a key sector that provides 40 per cent of total employment,” she added.
