The Moroccan government has commissioned a new slaughterhouse worth US$2.3m based in the province of Berkane to enable the country to meet the needs of the domestic market.
The inauguration was preceded by the Minister of Agriculture, Maritime Fisheries, Rural Development, and Water and Forests Mohammed Sadiki on April 10.
The new facility extends over a total area of 2.5 hectares, housing, among other facilities, stables, an equipped room for slaughtering, an automated packaging line, and a cold room.
According to officials, this slaughterhouse will be able to process 300 heads of sheep and 35 heads of cattle per hour, with an overall production capacity of 5,000 tons of meat per year to meet the needs of the domestic market.
The “Berkane slaughterhouses” operates a digital system that allows the identification and monitoring of livestock from the stables to the slaughter. This makes it possible to ensure compliance with the standards required by the National Office for Health, Safety, and Food Products (ONSSA) throughout the chain.
These slaughterhouses, which have a device for processing and recovering liquid waste, a cold chain, and providing modern packaging, are part of the solidarity and circular economy. They involve cooperatives in cleaning operations and provide continuous training for their employees.
This new project is part of the actions to improve and modernize the distribution circuits of the Regional Agricultural Plan of the Generation Green strategy.
According to the previous Moroccan Minister of Agriculture, Marine Fisheries, Rural Development, and Water and Forests, the plan was laid as a new strategy based on capitalizing on the achievements made by the Green Morocco Plan.
In 2021, Morocco’s agricultural sector secured US$250m from the World Bank Board to support the Green Generation Strategy as part of a joint operation with the French Development Agency (AFD).
The Green Generation Program-for-Results is designed to make farming more rewarding and strengthen sustainable agriculture by streamlining climate-smart practices.
The program also aims to finance entrepreneurship and training programs targeting rural youth and women and seeks to attract private investment into the agri-food sector by lifting regulatory and financing barriers to stimulate job creation.
