USGC Uses MAP Funds To Develop Moroccan Ruminant Sector

The U.S. Grains Council’s (USGC’s) use of Market Access Program (MAP) funds to promote the development of the Moroccan ruminant sector has led to a revolution in this sector. The Council invested $116,000 of MAP funding in 2015 in promoting the ruminant sector development, which resulted in sales of 200,000 metric tons of U.S. corn to the ruminant sector valued at $48 million, generating a return on investment (ROI) of $413 per $1 invested.

Beyond that near-term success, the Council’s strategy in this market over the past 15 years has resulted in structural shifts in Moroccan agriculture and in the development of a national strategy to support the work of developing Morocco’s livestock industry.

Some notable developments as a result of the Council’s work in Morocco include the following.

• Council guidance and education led to the establishment of a 10,000-head model feedlot, which in turn prompted the development of seven additional feedlots based on that model. Private sector investors are now estimated to be investing $750 million into the Moroccan beef sector development.
• The Moroccan government has established a program to promote feedlot development based on the Council’s plan, allocating $106 million in funding for this program. The plan targets a production increase of 80 percent to reach 310,000 tons and a yearly per capita consumption of 10 kilograms by year 2020.
• A Council partner established the first modern beef slaughterhouse facility for beef and sheep in Morocco, investing more than $16 million in establishing this facility. This slaughterhouse was the first of its kind in Morocco and will also serve as a model for future developments in animal processing and consumer safety.
• Commercial ruminant feed production increased from 50,000 metric tons per year to more than 1.1 million tons per year. This has resulted in an increase of corn use in ruminant feeds from 12,500 tons per year to 275,000 tons per year, a 16-fold increase in the last 15 years.
• Morocco’s beef sector has an annual production level of 254,000 tons in 2014, 50 percent higher than 2008 (170,000 tons).
• Morocco’s per capita consumption of beef has increased sharply from 6 kilograms in 2000 to 8 kilograms in 2013.

The Council’s strategic focus has become a driving force for the progressive modernization that the Moroccan beef industry is enjoying and has also become an effective model for other countries in the region to follow.