VEGETABLE PROD. & MKTG.

closed

The Vegetable Production and Marketing Project will costitute the first phase of Morocco's development plan (1979-1985) for off-season vegetables for export. Out of about 18,000 hectares planted in off-season vegetables, the proposed project will cover about 9,000 hectares, the production area destined for exports. It will be implemented over four years and will aim at (i) doubling Morocco's exports of off-season vegetables by introducing modern production techniques, including greenhouse technology and high-yielding hybrids, (ii) strengthening subsectoral production planning and monitoring, and (iii) establishing a separate marketing structure for off-season vegetables. It will also seek to diversify vegetable exports. At full development, the project will generate incremental foreign exchange earnings of $85 million annually, equivalent to about 26 percent of Morocco's agricultural exports in 1977. It will benefit about 8,000 farm families and employ the equivalent of an additional 16,000 full-time workers at an average cost of $6,000, considerably below the cost per job in small-scale industry.