The argan oil project: going from utopia to reality in 20 years

Abstract

-The "argan oil project" is nowadays considered as an economic success that harmoniously combined sustainable development, integrated research-action and socio-economic progress. Actually, it was a long battle whose main stages are presented here. The main stages of the argan oil project include a detailed chemical study of argan oil in order to certify argan oil quality and establish an official quality norm and obtain a geographic indication, pharmacological analyses to certify cosmetic argan oil safety, and finally a strong desire to develop Moroccan rural areas by implementing women's cooperatives and easing the women's access to education.Keywords: argan oil / edible oil / cosmetic oil / Morocco / field research Résumé -Le projet arganier : 20 ans pour passer de l'utopie à la réalité.. Le « projet arganier » est considéré comme un succès économique qui a mélangé harmonieusement le développement durable, la recherche-action intégrée et le progrès économique et social. En réalité, ce fut une longue bataille dont les principales étapes sont présentées ci-après. Les étapes principales du projet huile d'argan comprennent une étude chimique détaillée de l'huile d'argan pour certifier sa qualité, établir une norme officielle et obtenir une indication géographique protégée, des analyses pharmacologiques certifiant la sécurité de l'huile d'argan et enfin un fort désir de développer les zones rurales marocaines en mettant en place des coopératives de femmes et en facilitant l'accès des femmes à l'éducation.Mots clés : huile d'argan / huile alimentaire / huile cosmétique / Maroc / recherche-action

Working in Chains: African Informal Workers and Global Value Chains

“…International demand for argan oil has boomed. Exports have expanded from one ton in 1996 to 1,387 tons in 2016, positively affecting Morocco’s balance of payments; and the local price of argan oil has increased twelvefold in the past 20 years, offering potentially significant benefits to marginalized rural women producers (Charrouff & Guillaume, 2018, p. 2).…”

“…International cosmetics firms and the German development agency (GTZ) took an interest in argan oil in the 1990s, presenting it as a ‘triple win’ for conservation, rural development and economic growth (le Polain de Waroux & Lambin, 2013, p. 59). As indicated by Charrouff and Guillaume (2018, p. 4), a key player in the promotion of argan oil exports, the creation of the argan oil value chain was not a simple process of connection, but involved working to change perspectives and behavior of all participants using scientific, economic and psychological knowledge. Various aspects of the production process had to be modified, and new actors brought into the chain, including NGOs, international and domestic development agencies and argan oil cooperatives, each tasked with the coordination, translation and realignment of governance processes to create a workable value chain (Biermayr-Jenzano et al, 2014; le Polain de Waroux & Lambin, 2013; Lybbert, Aboudrare, Chaloud, Magnan, & Nash, 2011, p. 13963).…”

Oléoprotéagineux : se démarquer par une démarche qualité

“…Cette démarche de différenciation dépasse bien entendu les frontières de l'hexagone et même de l'Europe comme en témoigne le « projet arganier » qui a, entre autres, aboutit à l'obtention d'une IGP mais aussi mélangé harmonieusement le développement durable, la recherche-action intégrée et le progrès économique et social (Charrouf et Guillaume, 2018).…”

Valorization of argan oil: all you need to know about argan oil from Morocco

“…Some 250-year-old subjects could be observed. The argan forest covers about 870 000 ha (Díaz-Barradas et al, 2010) and has more than 20 million trees (Charrouf and Guillaume, 2018). This tree of the Sapotaceae family is particularly resistant to dry and arid conditions in southwestern Morocco.…”

“…The oleaginous almond represents only 3% of the weight of the fresh fruit (Bani-Aameur, 2001). The extraction of the oil is done in an artisanal way, it results, on the one hand, a loss of 45% of oil in the cake, corresponding to 1,530 tons (Charrouf and Guillaume, 2018), and on the other hand a loss of hygienic and sanitary nature. The rate of oil extraction could be increased, and its quality could be improved by the introduction of appropriate technology that would ensure the extraction of 95% of the existing oil in the kernel (Sinsin et al, 2020).…”