CIM ON SITE. ONE PERSON CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE

Better farming methods for Morocco

Researchers can analyse the connection between climate and crop yields only if reliable weather data are available. Then they can draw maps that show where crops should be planted with an eye to better yields. Wolfgang Göbel, with a doctorate in agricultural engineering, works as a CIM expert at the Moroccan research institute Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), where he has had thermometers, rain gauges and other equipment procured for this purpose. He has also developed methods and software that reproduce climate data in map form. If researchers can come to understand the local climate better, they can recommend appropriate plant varieties and cultivation methods to the farmers. About 45 percent of the workforce in Morocco are employed in agriculture, most on small farms that generally produce for their own needs. Better cultivation methods could help to raise yields and increase the farmers’ incomes without further polluting the environment. “Wolfgang Göbel is vital in promoting the project,” explains Mohammed Beqqali, head of the environment department at the INRA. “It is after all Göbel, so far the institute’s sole agro-ecologist, who decisively contributes to upgrading INRA employees,” he says. As an Integrated Expert, Wolfgang Göbel is getting to know this national research programme in a partner country from the inside. This experience will improve his chances for success, he believes, in future assignments abroad.