House of Representatives Adopts Five Government Bills on Agriculture
The House of Representatives unanimously adopted on Tuesday, June 8, 2021, five Government bills relating to agriculture and rejected a parliamentary bill relating to the House of Councilors' pension scheme. The adoption and rejection took place during two plenary sittings chaired by Speaker of House of Representatives Habib El Malki, in the presence of Minister of Agriculture, Maritime Fisheries, Rural Development, Water, and Forests Aziz Akhennouch.
At the beginning of the sitting, the chairpersons of the parliamentary groups and caucus expressed their astonishment and condemned the inclusion of a draft resolution by the European Parliament on an alleged ‘use of minors by the Moroccan authorities.’ The Representatives stressed that the exploitation of the migration issue, particularly concerning minors, is an attempt to Europeanize a bilateral crisis between the Kingdom of Morocco and Spain. They also rejected the double standards practiced by Spain and expressed their regret that Spain has received an individual prosecuted by the Spanish justice for heinous crimes against Spanish victims with a forged passport.
The House of Representatives members urged their European counterparts not to follow in the footsteps of attempts to involve the European Union in a bilateral Morocco-Spain crisis. In the same respect, they noted that the Joint Morocco-EU Parliamentary Committee is an important mechanism for dialogue between the two parties. They also highlighted that the Kingdom of Morocco enjoys strong and evolving links with the European Union, stressing that Morocco is an exemplary partner that fully fulfills its obligations in migration. The representatives also expressed their full support to Moroccan diplomacy and their mobilization to defend the territorial integrity and supreme interests of the Kingdom.
Introducing the bills on the plenary sitting agenda, Minister of Agriculture, Maritime Fisheries, Rural Development, Water, and Forests Aziz Akhennouch stressed that the modernization of the legislation on agriculture requires reinforcing and facilitating access to land and opening it to investors, both individuals and enterprises. This advance would be "to increase production and promote the creation job positions in the rural world while preserving the agricultural character of the lands. This required the amendment of certain provisions that constitute an obstacle to access to lands and entrench the property right."
In this regard, Government Bill 63.18 amending and supplementing Dahir operation as Law 1-72-277 of December 29, 1972 (Kaada 22, 1392) on the allocation to farmers of agricultural lands or lands for agricultural use belonging to the State’s private domains aims to settle the situation of the remaining farmers who have not obtained the release certificate and who are around 10,000 farmers that exploit around 130,000 hectares. The Bill also aims to resolve some of the problems raised by certain provisions in the Law on Agrarian Reform.
Government Bill 62.19 enacting special provisions on the acquisition of agricultural properties or properties for agricultural use outside townsites by joint-stock companies or by companies of partnerships limited by shares aims to generate job positions in the rural world, to attract new investments and techniques in the agricultural field, and to increase the production and profitability of farms. The two bills mentioned above are expected to advance farmers' economic and social situation by expanding investment opportunities in agricultural lands and fortifying the financing and lending means necessary to these investments.
On another note, Mr. Akhennouch highlighted the efforts of the National Office of Food Safety (ONSSA) on the ground to identify legal difficulties that could hinder the establishment of a comprehensive health safety policy. In this respect, he noted that “the health safety is a priority to the Kingdom, especially considering the issues and challenges such as the adaptation to international standards and legislation relating to health safety, phytosanitary, and the use of supplements such as the pesticides. He also noted the need to adapt national laws to the legislation of the most important importers of Moroccan products, to avoid their exposure to customs and sanitary barriers".
In this regard, Government Bill 76.17 on plant protection aims to tighten the relevant legal measures in a difficult global context marked by the possibility of the emergence and propagation of certain phenomena harmful to national plants. The Bill is also part of the Kingdom's international obligations in this field.
Government Bill 34.18 on plant protection products aims to upgrade the Law 42.95 in force, taking into account the international and scientific developments relating to the control and organization of the trade of pesticide products for agricultural use. This Bill is part of the Government's sustainable and responsible agriculture strategy that guarantees human, animal, and environmental safety. It also aims to upgrade the measures and conditions relating to the clearance and use of these products.
As regards Government Bill 53.18 on fertilizers and growing media, the latter aims to fill the legal gap and lay down the conditions for merchandising, importing, possessing, testing, and distributing these products, following international standards for the protection of human, animal, and environmental health.
In the general discussion, the representatives of parliamentary groups and groupings commended the bills, which would enable the creation of economic and social dynamics in rural areas by providing solutions to legal problems, addressing several problems relating to agrarian reform, simplifying procedures, and speeding up judicial decisions in this area. The representatives also praised the legislative initiative to fill the legal gaps in terms of safety standards and preserve sustainable agricultural development and the health safety of citizens, consumers, and farmers.
As for the Parliamentary Bill relative to abolishing and liquidating the pensions for the members of the House of Councilors, the House rejected the Bill after its amendment during the plenary sitting. It will be referred to the House of Councilors for further examination in a second reading.