Experts will address avocado production challenges in Morocco

The first edition of the Morocco Avocado Conference (MAC 2026) will bring together specialists from Mexico, Spain, South Africa, the United States and Chile on September 30 in Tangier, in a day that will focus on the main technical and productive factors that the avocado industry currently faces.

Organized by Green Smile under the theme “Water, Yield, Market”, the meeting will seek to connect different dimensions that affect the performance of orchards, from water management and nutrition to physiology, pollination, crop protection and tree management.

The conference will take place against a backdrop of water availability, weather conditions, production costs, and market demands, all of which present new challenges for the sector. In this context, the organizers propose addressing performance not only in terms of increased production, but also in terms of efficient resource use, fruit quality, and the economic viability of orchards.

International specialists arrive in Morocco

The MAC 2026 program will be divided into three sessions that will address orchard performance and resilience, industry business prospects, and crop management and protection.

The first session will focus on the main production challenges. Prometeo Sánchez García, from Mexico, will analyze the impact of abiotic stress on crop profitability and agronomic strategies to mitigate it; Gonzalo Vargas, from Chile, will address pruning strategies aimed at improving productivity and canopy management; while Iñaki Hormaza, from Spain, will delve into optimizing pollination to promote fruit set and yield.

The second session will shift the discussion to markets, trade, and global perspectives. The program includes a presentation by Morocco Foodex, whose speaker is yet to be confirmed, on Moroccan exports and their market dynamics. This will be followed by Fernando Dupuis Grawe of Rio Escalda Consultancy, who will analyze global trends and Morocco's strategic positioning, and Jaime Mendizabal of MAF RODA, with a presentation dedicated to post-harvest automation.

The session will conclude with a panel on the competitiveness and resilience of the Moroccan avocado industry, featuring Fernando Dupuis Grawe, Jaime Mendizabal and Yassin Chaib Benaissa, from Mavoca.

Finally, the third session will focus on orchard management and protection. Patricia Manosalva, from the University of California, Riverside, will address the use of avocado genetic and genomic resources to develop rootstocks resistant to production challenges; Schalk Schoeman, an international consultant in integrated pest management, will present on the management of red mites and thrips; and Ben A. Faber, from UC Agriculture and Natural Resources, will analyze the effects of water on avocado health and productivity in an online presentation.

From conference to fieldwork

The proposal will continue on October 1 and 2 with the Avocado Advanced Fertigation Training, which will move the activities from Tangier to Larache, one of the avocado producing areas of Morocco.

The training will be led by Prometeo Sánchez García and Gonzalo Vargas and will combine technical instruction with observation and hands-on practice. Green Smile reported that the first session will take place at the Lixus Beach Resort in Larache, while the second will involve activities at a nearby avocado orchard.

The planned content includes fertigation according to the different phenological stages and nutritional requirements of the trees, as well as the management of salinity, soil and water, climate stress and interpretation of analyses to support technical decision-making.

The training will also incorporate content related to pruning and tree architecture, linking orchard management with the balance between vegetative growth, production and fruit quality.

With the conference in Tangier and the subsequent sessions in Larache, the first edition of MAC 2026 will seek to connect discussions about industry challenges with technical knowledge and its application in production environments. The organizers announced that the full program for the event will be released soon.