On 2 March 2023, the first Netafim irrigation systems manufacturing plant in Africa will open in Kenitra, Morocco. The Israeli company's equipment, intended for professionals in the agricultural sector, will support the policy of rationalising water resources in the kingdom.
In Morocco, farmers will be better equipped to carry out their activities in a sustainable manner. This is thanks to a new factory that will be inaugurated on 2 March 2023 in the kingdom by Netafim. The Israeli supplier of irrigation systems has chosen the province of Kenitra to set up its factory, the first of its kind in North Africa. The province, which is part of the Rabat-Salé-Kénitra region, has an agricultural area of approximately 285,259 hectares, of which 70,769 hectares are irrigated.
Netafim’s new production plant will manufacture drippers, drip lines, sprinklers and micro-emitters, which will then be marketed in Morocco. “We are proud to support the Green Morocco Plan (PMV) launched in 2008 and championed by the Moroccan government to realise the potential of Morocco’s diverse and rich natural landscape and climate, with sustainable agricultural practices,” says Netafim CEO Gaby Miodownick.
Expansion in North Africa and the Mena
The equipment should help rationalise the use of water resources in Kenitra and throughout Morocco. If this province benefits from abundant rainfall that far exceeds the national average and from important and diversified water resources (Maâmora and Gharb aquifers for underground resources and the waters of Sebou and its tributaries for surface waters) as indicated by the Provincial Directorate of Kenitra, this hydrological situation does not concern other provinces of the kingdom, confronted with drought.
The Netafim plant required an investment of 30 million Moroccan dirhams, more than 2.7 million euros. To meet Moroccan demand for modern irrigation systems, Netafim will need a skilled workforce of between 150 and 200 employees who will be recruited in Morocco.
Read Also – MOROCCO: Magriser, a supplier of irrigation systems, has built a new factory
“Netafim will later develop its presence from Morocco on the African continent and in the Middle East,” says Gaby Miodownick, the CEO of the company founded in 1965. In the Cherifian kingdom, the Israeli company has been operating since 2017 through its subsidiary Netafim Morocco, which manufactures and distributes crop management technologies, including monitoring and control systems and dosing systems.
Inès Magoum
