ICARDA at Salon International de l’Agriculture au Maroc (SIAM) 2025

The 17th edition of the International Agricultural Show in Morocco (SIAM) will take place from April 21 to 27, 2025, in Meknes, under the theme “Agriculture and the Rural World: Water at the Heart of Sustainable Development.

Once a year, the imperial city of Meknes becomes the theater of the international agricultural fair of Morocco, SIAM, a vast event claimed to be the biggest in Africa of its kind. Over one million people visited its 1500 exhibitors from 70 countries spanning over 35 hectares of shows in 2024. The joint stand of FAO-ICARDA was honoured by the visit of His Royal Majesty, the heredity Prince Moulay El-Hassan and H.E. Mohamed Sadiki, Ministry of Agriculture.  

There was never a dull moment at our stand, with the crowd eager to learn more about ICARDA’s innovations on conservation agriculture and its impact on soil health, the latest barely variety with naked grains suitable for food production, the ultra-low energy drippers developed in partnership with MIT, and the complexity of root systems for drought adaptation.

For the first time in 2024, the stand included also a meeting space named “L’agora pour la resilience” where we held four stakeholders’ meetings spanning many key topics, from gender equality to genetic innovations to agronomy, soils, and also gave a stage to young scientists from different Universities to present their innovations. Moreover, ICARDA was prominently engaged in showcasing the OneCGIAR agenda at two high-level events, engaging the agricultural ministries from 10 African countries and 2 from Europe.

It is then with excitement that we look forward to participating again! If you happen to be in Meknes between the 21st and the 27th of April, stop at our stand in the international pavilion right in front of the country of honor: France. We loved the theme chosen for the fair – Agriculture and rural world: water at the heart of durable development – so we expanded our participation with a brand-new stand, with even more innovations on show, still with our fun meeting space “L’ agora pour la resilience”. 

Join our events physically or virtually:

• 22 April | 14:30 – 16:30
  Session: What is Gene Editing and why do we need further technology and policy development to harness its benefits for resilient crop breeding
  Organizers: Co-organized with FCDO UK, INRA, and UM6P

• 23 April | 10:30 – 12:30
  Session: Approche et perspectives de la souveraineté alimentaire au Maroc
  Organizer: Organized by FADARD

• 24 April | 10:30 – 12:30
  Session: L'agroécologie: libérer son potentiel pour assurer la sécurité alimentaire et l'adaptation au changement climatique
  Organizers: Co-organized with INRA and Oxfam, with the projects MountainHER, NATAE, and Wefe4MED

• 24 April | 14:30 – 16:30
  Session: Programme Marocain de Collaboration avec CGIAR (MCGP): 20 ans d'innovations agricoles en faveur du développement rural
  Organizers: Co-organized with INRA and MAPMDREF

• 25 April | 14:30 – 16:30
  Session: Jeunes chercheurs au Cœur de l’Innovation Agricole en Zones Arides
  Organizers: Co-organized with UM6P, IAV, and UM5