The Regional Agricultural Attache for the United States in Morocco is Hassan Ahmed. I first met Hassan when he was posted to Cairo and I was traveling on a USDA FAS trip that included stops in Cairo and Alexandria. I haven’t seen him since then until today but we still remember the “camel story” among others. Some of you have heard it. If you’re really interested I’ll share it with you some time.
Hassan spoke to the U.S. Grains Council about the work that his office does on behalf of American agribusiness. He started out by telling us that USDA’s FAS has a new mission statement which says, “Linking U.S. agriculture to the world to enhance export opportunities and global food security.” So he works along with “Cooperators” like the U.S. Grains Council and others to help create and enhance trade opportunities.
Hassan came on board in Morocco during the recent record U.S. grain export years. However, he says 2009 has not been so good but there are a number of factors to explain it and he’s very confident that the market will change. One factor he points to is the Morocco Green Plan for the growth of agriculture.
You can listen to a portion of Hassan’s presentation below.