Major exporter of mineral water
If Morocco can succeed in helping to stem the rising tide of hunger in Africa, it will become one of the principal geopolitical actors on the continent.Īs it seeks to realize these commercial and geopolitical ambitions, Morocco is facing increasingly daunting environmental and economic challenges exacerbated by the debilitating impact of climate change. Morocco's growing role in enabling African nations to increase their food production is now at a critical inflection point as its fertilizer plants in West and East Africa are scheduled to become operational between 20. In 2020, the total undernourished population in Africa amounted to 282 million people, a rise of 46 million from 2019. The problem is particularly acute in Africa, which among the world's regions has the highest proportion of its population, 21%, experiencing severe hunger. Although the increase in global hunger had been kept to a standstill from 2014-19, this changed in 2020 when the number of people facing hunger rose by an estimated 118 million. In its 2021 annual report on the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World, the FAO warned that "the world is at a critical juncture," citing its median estimate that 768 million people faced hunger in 2020. While supply disruptions have caused shortages and elevated levels of food inflation across more affluent countries, the current crisis has resulted in an alarming rise in hunger across the more vulnerable segments of the global population. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), reached a 10-year high, with average food prices having jumped 28% worldwide from the previous year.
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The 2021 Food Price Index, published by the U.N.
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These economic shocks have caused a sharp rise in world hunger and soaring global food inflation, throwing a spotlight on Morocco's role in ensuring international food security and the stability of food prices upon which much of the global economy depends. In Sub-Saharan Africa in particular, the kingdom’s combination of joint venture partnerships in local fertilizer production and deft direct outreach to farmers has resulted in a remarkable boost in African agricultural yields and the notable expansion of Morocco's soft power influence across the continent.Īfter spending the previous decade transforming its fertilizer manufacturing sector into a global industry leader, Morocco now faces new challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the severe supply chain disruptions that have followed in its wake. By becoming one of the world's leading fertilizer exporters, instead of continuing to just export the raw material, Morocco has enriched its economy and elevated its international standing. Unlike other finite resources such as fossil fuels, there is no alternative to phosphorus.
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Morocco's centrality to global food security rests with the fact that all food crops, indeed all plant life, require the element phosphorus to grow and Morocco possesses over 70% of the world's phosphate rock reserves, from which the phosphorus used in fertilizers is derived. Morocco's phosphorus fertilizer industry, with its massive production capacity and international reach, has transformed the kingdom into a gatekeeper of global food supply chains.