Irrigation Systems for Fruit Trees in Africa

For today’s project report, we are focusing on the municipality of Toubkal. Here, the High Atlas Foundation has ensured that all HAF-managed nurseries are equipped with sound water management, in particular pressure-drip irrigation systems.

The irrigated water for this region plays a vital role in HAF’s global efforts towards developing a sustainable organic agriculture value chain. Under this approach, HAF supports communities to capitalize on local resources and traditional knowledge to produce organic agricultural products. During the initial phase, production focused on organic walnut and almond production.

When we consider the impact of the whole value chain, the water management system is essential to ensuring long-term livelihoods of rural Moroccan communities. As water resources have been becoming more and more rare throughout Morocco, due to the negative effects of climate change, HAF employs the pressure-drip irrigation system. This process uses the least amount of water possible to ensure optimal growth of the plant, while reducing evaporation and waste. This infrastructure also reduces the time it takes to water the plants, allowing for greater tree production. And finally, this technique reduces the likelihood of weed growth, allowing farmers to optimize their time and increase production in a cost-effective manner.

As we hope you are aware, the Kingdom of Morocco is hosting the 22nd session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 22) to the UNFCCC in Marrakech this November 2016.  It will be an exciting time to come together and commitment to global action and cooperation towards sustainable environmental practices as laid out in the Paris Agreement. 

During the COP22, the High Atlas Foundation aims to highlight its organic value chain model as a solution to not only poverty, but peace throughout the country and region as well.  The COP22 is a COP of action; a global climate action agenda to boost cooperative action among governments, cities, businesses, investors and citizens to reduce emissions and help vulnerable countries adapt to climate impacts. The first universal climate agreement was unanimously adopted at COP21, which took place in December 2015 in Paris. The agreement aims to limit the rise in global temperature "well below 2ºC". This COP22 in Morocco aims to bring all States into action through the mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions and ambitious national commitments. 

As part of HAF's commitment to sustainable development and given our expertise in the agroforestry sector, we will be looking to market carbon offsetting initiatives to individuals, companies and states during the COP. Not only will this contribute to our 1 Billion Tree campaign, but also allow entities to uphold their commitments to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. Global Giving will have a Bonus Day on September 21st, and we at the High Atlas Foundation plan to offer to our Global Giving supporters the opportunity to offset their carbon emissions. 

Stay tuned here on Global Giving! You can also sign up for updates from the HAF newsletter for further information! 

Here at the High Atlas Foundation (HAF), assisting communities in promoting economic growth and community income generation through participatory development has been as the forefront of our mission. One project that we are working on to fulfill this objective is increasing efficient irrigation to new and existing fruit trees. The primary goal of this project is to plant new saplings and provide irrigation to 20,000 fruit trees, which will increase income generation through higher crop yields. At the same time, by planting these trees on mountainside agricultural terraces, the project will help to mitigate erosion and deforestation from mudslides.

This ongoing project is essential to rural agricultural development in the Tifnoute Valley as it provides necessary irrigation system development in 14 communities (over 3,500 people) and directly improves individuals' daily lives. Currently, HAF and our partner communities continue to plant new cherry and walnut trees on mountainside terraces. In the Atlas Mountain region specifically, the ground and soil environment is not necessarily conducive to the rich growth of crops, but through terracing and HAF’s drip irrigation system, farmers are able to efficiently irrigate trees and saplings and keep water run off to a minimum, as access to water in these communities is still a precious commodity. This process is also integral in helping to stabilize ground soil and rock beds. Terracing and tree growth on mountainsides can alleviate the risk of mud and rock slides which not only strip soil of vital nutrients but can negatively impact homes, schools, transportation systems and businesses. Our irrigation project enables communities to increase their growing capacity of fruit trees and ensure a prosperous economic future for communities and families throughout the region.

Through continued collaboration and implementation with our community partners, we are working to facilitate the sustainability of both the nature environment of the High Atlas region and communities’ economic stability. To ensure the longevity and viability of this project and the continued promotion of fruit tree agriculture throughout Morocco, we appreciate and welcome the support of our allies across the world.