Punch Newspapers
Tunde Ajaja
Morocco, one of only three countries, alongside Spain and France, to have both Atlantic and Mediterranean coastlines, has for long been a classic delight to tourists from different parts of the world. Perhaps, nothing less is expected from a country that has about 1,835 km coastline.
The Djemaa el Fna, described as one of world’s most existing town squares; the Sahara Dunes; and Draa Valley, a unique, beautiful landscape, are just few of the tourist sites dotting the country and have put the North African country on the global map of tourism.
Sometime in 2018, the United Nations World Tourism Organisation classified Morocco as one of the top nine tourist destinations in Africa. In the ranking premised on the amount spent by tourists in the respective countries, the report placed Morocco as the third with $8bn, coming behind Egypt’s $12bn and South Africa’s $9bn.
But, in recent years, Argan oil, extracted from the fruits of a treasured tree, Argan tree, found only in the southern province of the country, has somewhat become the new ‘gold’ in Morocco. It is a precious oil used mainly for cosmetic, especially in ensuring a shinning skin, and culinary purposes.
Apart from increased local demand-cum-usage, the oil, which is pricey but widely used across continents for its cosmetic benefit, is now a major product exported to Europe and North America and is boosting the country’s foreign earnings.
In Morocco, the oil is extensively cherished that it is used as wedding gift and in preparing festive dishes. In fact, a breakfast of bread and the oil, especially when mixed with almonds and peanuts to make amlou, sometimes sweetened by honey or sugar, is usually an unforgettable experience. One is often left asking for more like Oliver Twist. It’s one of the many great uses of the Argan oil.
“In the past, the Argan oil was only sold in Morocco and it was difficult to access, but since the early 2000, it became a fashionable product for the international market, especially in Europe and North America,” a native of the country said. “The cosmetic companies in those countries use the oil to manufacture their products and when used on the skin or hair, it has a form of transformative advantage.”
Notably, the Argan tree, covering about 800,000 hectares of land, is found mainly in Essaouira and Agadir, a city in Morocco best known for its wide crescent beaches, golf courses and seaside promenade lined with cafes, restaurants, bars and top notch hotels arranged in an admirable style.
But, besides its established markets in Europe and North America, the government of Morocco, through the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Rural Development, Water and Forests, few weeks ago held an international conference, tagged ‘The African Argan Tree Show’ to market the oil to the rest of the world, especially Africa, and Nigeria is a major target.
The President of the Souss-Massa region, under which Agadir falls, Ibrahim Hafidi, stressed that the plan of the government was for the oil to reach the world. He said, “We have big markets in countries like the United States because there are lots of cosmetic companies importing the Argan oil and then they add value to them.
“But I imagine the oil going to other parts of Africa. About 400,000 tonnes of the oil are sought in Africa every year by Moroccan sailors going to Senegal, Ivory Coast and Mali because of the demand there, which means the Argan oil already reached those areas. We want the oil to reach more African countries.
The conference, which held in Agadir alongside an exhibition to showcase the many products made from the oil, was a gathering of stakeholders, including government officials, sellers of the oil and owners of cooperatives involved in the production. And the conference also presented them with the platform to discuss the future of the Argan tree and identify solutions to the risks facing its survival.
The Minister of Agriculture, Aziz Akhannouch, said at the conference that the government and the King of Morocco, Mohammed VI, were deeply interested in sustaining the Argan oil.
He said about 385,000 tones had so far been exported, the bulk of which was for cosmetics while the rest was for culinary purpose. Also, he said no fewer than 500 research works (at both master’s and PhD levels) had been received on the sustainability of the Argan industry.
Meanwhile, one of the organisers of the conference, Eglantine Vidal, said the Agadir conference was a sequel to the scientific congress held in respect of the oil. Speaking on why the conference was important to all, she said, “There are several reasons for the event. First is that there is need to communicate the importance of the Argan oil to the wider public for everybody to know the benefits of this oil; not only for cosmetics, but also for medicines and consumption.
“The conference is also important because of the risks facing this heritage and so there is need to inform the public; vis-a-vis the need to preserve and protect it. That was why a lot of children also came for the exhibition, because we want them to be informed about this treasure called the Argan Tree.
“Also, there is need for the professionals to meet and discuss the prospects for international market for the oil. Argan oil is used in different countries by many cosmetic brands and individuals but it’s not everyone who knows where the oil comes from. The conference would help us to inform the wider public of these and other things of interest about the Argan oil.”
To all the stakeholders at the event, the importance of Argan oil to people of the world cannot be overemphasised.
Like the rich palm tree, all the parts of the Argan tree is also useful; from the leaves to the fruits and the timber; it’s a rich, natural resource that is exhaustively useful.
One of the traders in the oil, Sarah Homua, who is the President of Sarah Cosmetics, also enumerated the benefits of the oil, noting that whether for cosmetics or culinary, it is produced under standard conditions for the users’ safety.
She said, “The oil has a high social and cultural value for its people and visitors alike. For us in Morocco, the oil is like gold. It is important to us, especially for the users and the women who crack the nuts in the rural areas. Basically, we use the oil for cosmetics and for culinary.
“For cosmetics, it’s rich in vitamins and it’s a good antioxidant. We also use it in products like creams and other cosmetic products because it’s rich and natural. From research, we were told that it’s one of the richest in Vitamin E.
“For culinary, it’s delicious and nutritious. After extracting the oil, we could use it to eat bread, cake and many other things. It can also be used to cook.”
The organisers of the conference, encouraged other countries to embrace the use of the oil, saying apart from being delicious when used for culinary purposes, it’s a good beauty product for the skin and hair.
But, apart from the sale of the oil, one aspect that is also of interest is the process of extracting the oil, which is still largely traditional, especially by elderly women cracking the nuts by hand between two stones, like palm kernel extraction. This manual method is deliberate especially in this modern age, according to the President of the Souss-Massa region.
Simply, the process involves harvesting the fruits, drying, pulping, grinding, sorting, milling and mixing.
As part of ways to ensure the required hygiene, no one, including the women, wears shoes or footwear into the chamber or room where the nuts are cracked and where the oil is extracted. In fact, anyone entering the room must wear overalls.
Hafidi said the process was not fully mechanised so that the women who crack the nuts in the villages would not lose their jobs. He said, “We don’t want it to be fully mechanised because if we have big machines, there would be loss of jobs and we are trying to avoid any situation that would deprive women their jobs in the Argan oil production process.
“A machine could eliminate the jobs of 1,000 women and we don’t want that. We are trying to organise those women to have their own fruits and prepare the first step because it is a form of employment for them. But after the nuts have been extracted, we mechanise the process.”
Since part of the process was mechanised, the cracking of the nuts is the only stage where there is human contact; the rest of the process leading to the storage of the extracted oil is done by machines to avoid contamination.
So precious is this practice that these elderly women teach their daughters from a young age, despite their academic pursuit to preserve the tradition. And being a vocation that sustains families, it’s more of a collective responsibility for everyone to preserve its existence.
But, in spite of its commercial success, the continued existence of the Argan tree, especially in commercial quantity, is also becoming a matter of concern.
Apart from the intensive exploitation by the natives, which has seen the coverage area reduce from one million hectares to about 800,000, issues of climate change, charcoal making, fire, encroachment, deforestation and grazing by goats are other risks facing the continued existence of the Argan tree.
For example, while it’s somewhat strange for goats to climb trees, in Morocco, goats are said to climb the Argan trees to eat the leaves and fruits.
These are no doubt issues of concern to the government and other stakeholders, which according to some of them could make the oil to become scarce and expensive. As part of measures to preserve this heritage and make sure it doesn’t go into extinction, the minister said a plan was already in place to plant 25,000 trees. Between 2018 and December 2019, about 1,000 Argan trees had been planted.
While it takes 10 years for the tree to have good yields products, five years after planting, it starts to have fruits on it. Thankfully, the tree has a long lifespan of about 200 years.
Also, as a way of preserving this national heritage, goats are kept out of the area by forest wardens, while the harvesting of the fruits is becoming a matter of law and village traditions. Meanwhile, if anyone cuts the tree, they pay a fine, and if the action is considered to be daring or the impact seen as severe, the person could be jailed.
The tree doesn’t grow in a lot of places; it is native to the southern province of Morocco, though it is also said to exist in Israel and Mexico, which is not known to extract the oil.
Morocco is a beautiful city; from Rabat, the capital city, to Casablanca, the commercial hub, and other beautiful cities like Essaouira, Marrakech and Agadir, there are many lovely sites to behold. When next you visit to the country, a breakfast of bread and Argan oil will be a delicious option.
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