4.REVISITING FAMINE PLANTS AND THEIR ROLE IN FIGHTING HUNGER AND SAVING LIVES IN MOROCCO BY FATIMA NASSIF AND ABBES TANJI

Abstract

Over the past centuries, Morocco has experienced several episodes of famine and food shortages. The 1945 widespread great famine hold vivid images in the people’s collective memory. To affected communities, one of the ways adopted to fight starvation was the use of wild plants. Consumed plants are sporadically mentioned in historical records and chronicles often without precision of the plant species or their processing into food. This paper aims at enumerating these plants, their vernaculars, parts used and most typical ways of consumption. Also examined is the role these plants played in saving lives. In addition to the exploitation of relevant literature, focus group discussions and interviews with key informants are conducted. A total of 54 plant species is identified as famine and food shortage associated plants. They belong to three distinct categories a) 18 strictly famine plants, b) 28 plants with combined uses in famines and normal times, and c) 8 desert plants. The cross-regional analysis shows substantial differences in terms of gathered plants, thus, reflecting Morocco’s natural and cultural diversity. A comparative perspective reveals that the use of plants to combat hunger is not unique to Morocco. Millions of people worldwide survived on gathered plants. Some of the plants used in Morocco have known similar uses under famine conditions in neighbouring countries of the Maghreb and the Mediterranean basin. Examples of these plants include Arisarum spp., Arum spp., Bunium spp., Eryngium spp., and Quercus spp. It is argued that while nature offered an array of plants, it is the extraordinary ingenuity of women who often processed these plants into food. Extremely tiny seeds and tubers were prepared through long multi-stage operations to be rolled into couscous or knead for bread-making. It is concluded that knowing plants used during famines and food shortages and understanding their role in saving people’s lives are crucial to valuing Morocco’s biological and cultural diversity. Not only is this understanding necessary for preserving this diversity but also needed for demystifying the stigma associated with some plants for present and future generations.
KEY WORD: Morocco, Sahara, Wild plants, Famine, Food Shortage, Hunger, Irni, Beqoul.