Moroccan Oilseed Cultivation Would Almost Triple Under Farm Plan

Morocco aims to almost triple the area seeded with oilseed crops in the country by 2020 to reduce its dependence on vegetable-oil imports.
Oilseeds would be sown on 127,000 hectares (313,871 acres) under an accord signed by the agriculture ministry and Folea, Morocco’s oilseed-industry federation, according to a statement dated yesterday. That compares with 44,000 hectares now, it showed.
Farmers would plant sunflowers on 85,000 hectares by 2020 under the plan and rapeseed on 42,000 hectares, according to the statement. Local production of cooking oil would rise to 93,000 metric tons a year, meeting 19 percent of national needs, from respective equivalents of 8,000 tons and 2 percent
now, it showed.