Agriculture fair opens in drought-hit Morocco with focus on sustainability

A participant walks past a display screen of agricultural lands inside a civil society pavilion at COP22 in Marrakech, Morocco, Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2016.   -  
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Mosa'ab Elshamy/Copyright 2016 The AP. All rights reserved.

Drought-hit Morocco has been hosting an international agriculture fair in the city of Meknes this week (SIAM), focusing on climate resilience and sustainability. Some 70 countries and 1,500 exhibitions took part in the 16th edition of the expo, with some 800,000 expected visitors.

More than 10 large tents displayed various agricultural products and services, including vegetables, fruits, fertilizers, irrigation mechanisms, from various regions of Morocco, as well as abroad.

The exhibition provides a valuable opportunity for participants to engage in conversations, exchange ideas and experiences, as well as finding new markets.

This event in Morocco coincides with the country reeling from the detrimental impact of drought on its agriculture sector.

This led the Ministry of Agriculture to take a set of measures to deal with water scarcity, including the creation of new seawater desalination plants.

The International Agricultural Exhibition of Morocco (SIAM) is organized by Morocco's Ministry of Agriculture and is dubbed as the largest agricultural event in Africa.

This year it welcomed Spain as special guest of honor.

The show runs from April 22 to 28.

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