Agricultural News
Oklahoma Ag Leadership Program Studies Agriculture in Morocco
Sat, 20 Feb 2010 16:19:49 CST
Class 14 of the Oklahoma Agricultural Leadership Program continues on its Spain/Morocco International Travel Experience. The following is a summation of the last couple of days of the travels the group is undertaking- Clinton Griffiths of OSU Ag Communications offers this overview for us. The picture here is of a Market stall seen along the streets of Fes in Morocco. We also have started a full set of pictures that are being provided to us by the class on our Flickr pages- click here to see those pictures from Clinton Griffiths and OALP Class 14.
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The OALP class 14 found its way to the continent of Africa for the first time in program history.
The group left the Spanish port of Algeciras early on the Feb. 18th aboard a ferry. The port is the largest passenger harbor in Europe and the 5th largest container harbor in the world. The hour and half ferry ride took the group past the rock of Gibraltar and into the Moroccan port of Tangiers at the top of Africa.
A five-hour bus ride along the Atlantic coast showcased the countries diverse and currently wet terrain. More than two months of unusually heavy rainfall has more than 70-thousand hectares that are currently lost to production because they are underwater. The normally dry landscape was covered in green grass, cypress trees, cork oak forests, fruits, vegetables and grain crops like barely and wheat.
Two things stood out for class members during the trip. One was the large number of plastic green houses and row covers helping farmers grow acre after acre of strawberries, melons and bananas. The second was the primitive nature in which most farming was being done along the roadway. Men and women could be seen riding donkeys or using them to pull a small cart. Two men using a horse and wooden plow for rows while a third follows with a sack of grain over his shoulder planting seeds by hand. In this country more than 40% of the population works in agriculture and the average wage in Morocco is about $300 per month. If a family owns 2 cows or 10 sheep they're considered a wealthy family.
We ended our bus ride in Meknes one of the oldest cities in Morocco and located towards the center of the country. There we stopped in at the National school of agriculture and listened to a presentation from the director. He shared with the group Morocco's vision for the future of Agriculture. The director's presentation continued on Feb. 19th in the Middle Atlas Mountains on the Adarouch Ranch. The ranch sits on 10,300 hectares or about 22,000 acres. The area, because of its hilly, rocky terrain is not suited for crop production. The Adarouch Ranch runs 5000 head of Santa Gertrudis cattle, 2500 females and pastured in groups of 300. The breed of Santa Gertrudis was brought over in the late sixties, or early 1970's from the King Ranch in Texas. The ranch was created in 1969 by the government of Morocco as a way to create a modern "American" style production system. The Santa Gertrudis were bred with the native cattle to help incorporate some of the desired native characteristics making them suitable for the terrain. Also included are two 2000 head feedlots, about 100 quarter horses and several Arabian horses.
As the group left the Middle Atlas Mountains headed for the ancient city of Fes, Class 14 members were drawn to rows of yellow plastic covered mounds. These mounds are used as storage by onion cooperatives and individual onion growers while they wait for market prices to rise. The onions are piled between two rows of rocks covered in straw and then plastic is placed on top helping preserve them for up to 6 months.
As the group arrived in Fes the age of the city is uniquely intertwined with the modern world. One of four imperial cities in the country, Fes and which was founded in 808 A.D. We took a tour of the old city of the Medina of Fes el Bali, which is a walled two hundred acre city of more than 400-thousand people. It is the largest contiguous car-free urban area in the world. With more than 9,000 narrow streets and alleyways guide helped the group twist and weave their way through the hilly terrain. Inside amongst the many merchants Class 14 got a chance to see traditional Moroccan craftsmen making everything from carpets or rugs, leather goods, woven scarves and decorative metals.
On Feb. 20 the group visits the Roman ruins in Volubilis dating all the way back to the third century B.C.
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