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Close-up on two plants present in the Sahel, very resistant to drought and very useful to human populations: moringa and hanza.
It is called moringa (Moringa oleifera), but the Senegalese preferred a much more telling name in Wolof: nebeday, derived from the English “never die” – he never dies! – to signify the resilience of this tree native to India. Nebeday is therefore, quite naturally, the name chosen by Frenchman Jean Goepp, who has lived in Senegal since adolescence, for the association he co-founded 11 years ago and which advocates “ development through the environment ». « For us, the development of Senegal cannot be done without the tree. And for us, the tree is life. The nebeday, the moringa, is a tree that never dies, and when you have it next to you, you never die. »
Moringa has indeed exceptional qualities. The plant is adapted to drought and poor soils. ” I saw moringas grow in cement rubble – amazing! “, still surprised Jean Goepp. « When he gets cut or eaten, he always leaves. It has a taproot (in the shape of a ball, from which the secondary roots start) which grows very quickly and goes very deep into the ground. »
Moringa leaves, crushed, have been eaten in Senegal for generations in traditional dishes. Its nutritional richness is one of its assets. The Nébéday association thus distributes breakfasts made from moringa and its “ mineral complex ». And it is even, according to Jean Goepp who develops its uses, a food, a food that also acts as medicine. “ All the amino acids that humans need are found in the leaves. Between the leaves and the flowers that you are going to eat, and the fact that it cures 300 diseases according to traditional medicine, it makes it a tree of life. »
Armed against drought
3,000 kilometers away, Josef Garvi has the same concerns. This Nigerian born in Sweden founded in Zinder, the second city of Niger, Sahara Sahel Foods, which promotes in particular another tree of life: the hanza (Boscia senegalensis), endemic to the Sahel, from the Atlantic to the Red Sea. Its fruits are yellow and bitter, to ward off predators. In particular, flour is made with its seeds. But this tree, which can reach 4 to 5 meters in height, has a bad reputation. “ It is an ancient food that has been consumed in the Sahel since the dawn of time, but which, following the influence of Arabization, colonization and finally globalization, has been devalued to the point of being stigmatized as a food. famine and scarcity “, explains Josef Garvi. Rich in proteins and carbohydrates, hanza is present throughout the Sahelian strip.
Boscia senegalensis is also one of the species planted to build the Great Green Wallbecause it is particularly adapted to the drought of the Sahel.
« In its roots, the hanza has the ability to store water. But the plant also has incredible abilities to limit water loss. With its leathery leaves and the structure of the trunk, it ensures that evaporation is really reduced to a minimum. “The hanza is a desert tree, which has been able to adapt to the aridification of the region and evolve to cope with very low rainfall.” It really is a very resilient plant, able to produce productive crops in conditions as arid and as austere as 100 millimeters of rain per year. “says Josef Garvi. ” Almost nothing can produce food under these conditions. »
Sahel soybeans
The hanza is content with little, and can give much. “ Here in Niger, the average cereal harvest is around 40 to 50 grams per square meter cultivated. “, continues the director of Sahara Sahel Foods. « The hanza, on the other hand, gives 100 grams of dried seeds per square meter. It is therefore a plant that can double the yield of food production. It is really ideal to become the staple food on a large scale in our regions, to become for the Sahel what soya was for Asia. Sahara Sahel Foods has thus developed a whole series of hanza-based food products: flour, jam, biscuits, etc.
By trying to put an end to the collective imagination linked to the hanza (one of the rare resources of the populations during the famines of 1972 and 1984), Josef Garvi does not preach in the desert; the hanza is less discredited. “ Farmers save hanza dishes for the days when they are going to plow the fields, to have the energy to be able to work all day. When you explain to rural populations that this plant can have significant nutritional benefits, it helps them to regain the pride of reclaiming their heritage. “: reconnect with its roots and those of the trees of life.
Planting trees is life?
In principle, yes. And it is for this reason that we plant a lot of trees so that they absorb the CO2 responsible for climate change. But it doesn’t always work. In Turkey, 3 years ago, 11 million trees were planted on November 11 at 11:11 a.m. Three months later, 90% were already dead. A study carried out in Asia has just shown that reforestation has an average failure rate of 20% the first year. And after 5 years, 4 out of 10 trees have not survived. Because the soils are too degraded. When we plant, sometimes it crashes.