El Bouari: His Majesty’s Initiative to Adapt African Agriculture to Climate Change is an Ambitious Response
El Bouari, the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, Rural Development, Water and Forests, confirmed on Wednesday in Meknes that the initiative to adapt African agriculture to climate change, launched by His Majesty King Mohammed VI, represents an ambitious African response to enhance agricultural resilience.
During the fifth ministerial conference of the initiative held on the occasion of the 17th International Agriculture Exhibition in Morocco, El Bouari stated that this initiative, which has emerged as a leading African platform for agricultural adaptation, brings together governments, financial institutions, researchers, and various development stakeholders around a common vision.
He emphasized that “now more than ever, this initiative must become a mobilizing force, as the figures are clear. Without decisive actions, Africa could lose about 25% of its agricultural production by 2050.”
The minister also recalled that since the early sessions of the conference, strong declarations and concrete action plans, as well as innovative tools, have been established.
He explained that “the African Initiative for Climate Adaptation in Agriculture has launched numerous projects in partnership with several international organizations, including the international platform for adaptation metrics, which today plays a key strategic role in supporting the work program emerging from the COP conference held in Dubai and the upcoming COP in Belem.”
El Bouari stated that this exercise will rely on precise methodologies and indicators tailored to the African reality to measure and assess progress in adapting agriculture to climate change.
The minister highlighted that the agricultural investment incubator, supported by the African adaptation initiative in close cooperation with the initiative to adapt African agriculture to climate change, aims to mobilize nearly $780 million to finance innovative sustainable agriculture projects across the continent.
He also mentioned that the initiative has strengthened its scientific and diplomatic presence through increased publications, exchanges between Southern countries, technical workshops, and participation in major international conferences, adding that this dynamic today attests to the emergence of the initiative as a credible platform in the field of agricultural transition in Africa.
