Morocco/Cork harvest 2024: ANEF launches innovative modernization and professionalization program

Commune de Haddada (Province of Kénitra) - The cork harvest campaign for the year 2024 was launched on Thursday in the Commune de Haddada (Province of Kénitra), with the inauguration of an innovative program to modernize and professionalize cork harvesting through the integration of new state-of-the-art technology.

This innovative program, initiated by the Agence nationale des eaux et forêts (ANEF), is part of the implementation of the "Forê ts du Maroc2020-2030" strategy, launched by HM King Mohammed VI in February 2020, the third pillar of which aims to modernize the forestry professions by the technical and material capacities of cork harvesting companies, the introduction of modern harvesting equipmentmodern harvesting equipment, the deployment of appropriate incentives, and the provision of appropriate training and supervision.

The main aim of the program is to preserve cork oak ecosystems by introducing innovative cork harvesting techniques. These new approaches aim to avoid injury to the trees during harvesting, thus preserving their long-term sustainability, given that cork production requires more than 27 years after initial planting.

This new technology offers better adaptation to climate change, which shortens the harvesting period, thus improving the quality and value of the cork collected.

The pilot roll-out of this program, inaugurated by ANEF Managing Director Abderrahim Houmy, is scheduled for this year in the Rabat-Sorbonne region.e in the Rabat-Salé-Kénitra region, before being extended to other potential regions by 2025. A training program is also being launched during the current campaign, in partnership with the Association Marocaine des Industriels du Liège, and run by specialist trainers.

In a statement to the press, Mr. Houmy said that this new technology would ensure the modernization of the cork harvesting and recovery process, preserving the production of cork planks, instead of low-value residual pieces.

"Harvesting periods are becoming shorter and less predictable due to climate change", revealed the DG ofANEF, noting that new technologies enable a significant increase in edging yields, by strengthening the technical and material capacities of companies specializing in this field.

Anas Mohammed, President of the Association Marocaine des Industriels du Liège (Moroccan Association of Cork Manufacturers), made a similar statement, noting that the new technology enables the cork to be cut from the tree by detecting the cork's shape.This helps the tree to recover.

The traditional harvesting process was carried out using traditional tools such as sticks, which can damage either the tree or the cork, he explained.

Morocco's cork oak forests rank fourth in the world in terms of surface area, offering considerable economic potential for exploitation. These forests supply cork, a non-timber forest product, to a dozen specialized industrial companies.

On average, these companies process more than 80,000 steres of cork per year in good years. The recovery of these forests generates an average of around 54 million dirhams in annual revenue for the 52 local authorities concerned.

Source: www.mapexpress.ma