(MENAFN - Morocco World News) Rabat - Recent snow and widespread rainfall that have swept over the country will have a significant and positive impact on the upcoming agricultural season, said the Ministry of Agriculture, Maritime Fisheries, Rural Development, Water and Forests. In a statement released on Wednesday, the ministry indicated that widespread rain and snowfall are forecasted to continue for the upcoming weeks, reducing the rainfall deficit in several regions. At the start of the agricultural season last spring, the rainfall deficit was at 61 percent. By late January, though, steady rainfall had brought the deficit down to 36 percent. 'The climate conditions for the current agricultural seasons are developing favorably and the crops are experiencing a normal growing cycle,' said the statement, which is based on satellite imagery analysis. Out of 4.93 million hectares, the total planted area represents 4.68 million hectares, only 10 percent of which is irrigated. Of the total arable land, cereal grain crops constitute 88 percent of total acreage, 8 percent is dedicated to fodder, and 4 percent to vegetables. A total of 48,300 hectares is used for sugar crops, distributed between Doukkala (35 percent), Tadla (28 percent), Gharb (27 percent), Loukkos (6 percent), and Moulouya (5 percent). With several provinces affected by the extreme cold and heavy snow cover, the ministry has implemented a subsidized feed distribution program for those regions facing problems obtaining livestock feed supplies, the source"

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