Afourar – The National Institute for Agricultural Research Presents Its New Plant Varieties to Farmers
The National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA), through its regional center in Tadla-Beni Mellal, organized an informational day on Monday to showcase its new plant varieties, including cereals, legumes, forage crops, and oilseeds.
This event, held at the Afourar experimental station and attended by INRA Director Lamia Laghouati, is part of the implementation of the “Green Generation 2020–2030” strategy.
It provided an opportunity for farmers, institutional partners, and professionals from the institute to witness the level of progress INRA has achieved in technology transfer and to discover the institute’s research accomplishments regarding new varieties of cereals, legumes, forage, and oilseed crops. The event highlighted the genetic advancement of these varieties and allowed stakeholders to learn about their agronomic, physiological, and technological traits in order to encourage their adoption by farmers, producers, seed multipliers, and seed marketing companies.
Through this event, the institute also aimed to present its seed multiplication program for new varieties that have already been licensed or are in the process of licensing, while also emphasizing the importance of supplementary irrigation to ensure good yields—especially in an agricultural season marked by early-season drought.
On this occasion, the institute introduced the new durum wheat variety “Jawaher,” registered in 2023, which offers up to 30% higher grain yields compared to older varieties. It also presented the barley variety “Chifa,” registered in 2016, which is the first naked-grain barley variety on the African continent, containing 8% beta-glucan—soluble fibers that help reduce cholesterol, diabetes, and heart disease risks.
The institute also showcased varieties such as “Louiza,” “Ithri,” and “Hammadi,” developed to enhance nutritional and culinary quality. These varieties boast higher protein content and increased levels of yellow pigments—key traits for the production of traditional foods such as couscous and pasta.
In addition, the event highlighted new varieties of soft wheat and oilseed crops, especially rapeseed (canola), known for their higher resistance to water stress.
According to INRA, the creation of new varieties—seen as an innovative vector—is a key lever for supporting the new “Green Generation” agricultural strategy. The success of this strategy depends largely on the dissemination and widespread use of these new varieties by farmers within a reasonable timeframe.
To this end, INRA’s 2020–2030 research program includes the development of 30 to 50 new varieties across all sectors, with expected yield increases of no less than 50%, aiming to strengthen the competitiveness of the sectors and their resilience to climate change while ensuring the sustainable management of natural resources.
To achieve these goals, INRA has established several platforms at its experimental stations located in key production areas, including the Tadla (Afourar) station.
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