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Date: Enhancing Local Cooperatives and Reviving the Economy in Tata Region
The cooperative fabric in the Tata region serves as a crucial lever for promoting the date sector and strengthening the social and solidarity economy in oasis areas. This is achieved through organizing local stakeholders, developing production chains, and transforming raw products into high-value items.
Cooperative efforts contribute to improving the quality of local dates and increasing their competitiveness by adopting modern sorting, storage, processing, and marketing techniques that comply with health safety standards and national market requirements. This framework also facilitates the inclusion of vulnerable groups, especially women and youth, in the economic cycle, creating job opportunities and boosting income, while also playing a role in preserving the oasis heritage and ensuring the sustainability of natural resources.
In this context, the Takmat Agricultural Cooperative for date production and promotion, located in the Tsint community, is a cornerstone in enhancing the local social economy by converting dates into a variety of high-value products, such as date jam, date paste (harissa), and date sugar, meeting market needs and catering to diverse consumer tastes.
Aboubakr Hamad, the cooperative’s president, noted that the cooperative comprises 14 members (4 men and 10 women) and focuses on enhancing local date varieties such as “Jihal,” “Boufaqus,” and “Sayir,” preparing specifically for the Ramadan season to ensure the availability of the finest types for consumers.
This project is part of the self-employment program for the Souss-Massa region (2023-2025), co-funded by the Mohammed V Foundation for Solidarity, the Souss-Massa Regional Council, and the National Agency for the Development of Oases and Argan Trees. It aligns with national objectives aimed at supporting the social economy, developing oasis areas, and maintaining their economic and environmental balance.
The cooperative’s headquarters has been equipped with integrated production units that include sorting and cleansing rooms, washing and drying facilities, canning and packaging areas, as well as a cooling room with an 8-ton capacity to ensure product quality and meet proper storage conditions.
Tata cooperatives aim to enhance coordination among themselves and open up to wider markets, solidifying the oasis’s status as a primary source of high-quality dates, and preserving this natural and economic heritage that is fundamental for sustainable development in the region.
